After girls swim coach John Dissinger’s mother passed away last year from cancer, he wanted to make a difference.

As a five-year open water competitor, Dissinger invited the swim team to a charity swim event on Lake Conroe in Margaritaville on Oct. 5. The event was to raise money for MD Anderson Cancer research with the nonprofit Swim Across America.

Swim Across America has raised over $100 million for cancer research and aims to make cancer a chronic disease.

“Since losing my mom, I tried to get more people involved and spread the word and spread the fight,” Dissinger said.

When he extended the invitation to swimmers on the boys and girls swim teams, Dissinger didn’t expect how many people would answer the call. Kingwood Park Swimming ended up raising more than $8,000, which was double the amount of any other swim team in attendance.

There were three races available for the Kingwood Park athletes: the half mile, the mile and the two mile. While a majority of the team swam the mile, sophomore Courtney Scott decided to race the two mile.

Scott has been swimming in open water events since she was 10 and has competed at the national level. She enjoyed watching swimmers who have never swam open water do it for the first time.

“[I loved seeing] all the new people try out open water and get to experience it,” said Scott, who finished second to freshman Jaxon Major in the two mile event.

During the event, everyone signed a banner with the name of a loved one who was fighting cancer, had beaten cancer or who had passed away due to cancer.

Almost everyone there had a name to write down.

Daisy Thompson, a distance swimmer and a harpist in chamber orchestra, used a Sharpie lying on the table to add a name to the banner.

“I have a best friend,” Thompson said. “His name is Darren Han. He passed away at the beginning of this year from brain cancer, so I’m swimming for him.”

Thompson also believes that anyone – even in a global issue like cancer – can make change. By participating in events like Swim Across America, critical money is raised for research.

“I think that perspective is really important, and that if we find a new perspective then we can make a difference,” Thompson said.

Swimming the race wasn’t the only way to help out. Kingwood Park was not only a powerhouse in providing funds but also in providing volunteers as well. The volunteers passed out towels, helped register people for the swim and greeted swimmers at the finish line.

Junior Marisa Chinen, who could not swim due to a medical issue, still came to support her team and the cause.

“You can always do something,” Chinen said. “I mean, I’m here volunteering [even though] I can’t swim. Just being here helps out everyone and everyone gets to see the effect on cancer.”

This story was originally published on KP Times on October 5, 2024.