Swim Across America brought hundreds of swimmers to S. Pete Beach and St. Petersburg this spring, raising money for pediatric cancer research with help from Rob Butcher and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Foundation. Local teens like Piper Bozeman, Geiger Feliciano and Cade Clark shared why they swim, and Jenine Rabin explained how early donations helped launch clinical work. The event’s purpose, the community impact and the funds raised were all on display as families and volunteers turned a morning in the ocean into a push for better treatments.
The scene at S. Pete Beach was equal parts community and purpose, and organizers leaned into that energy. Rob Butcher, CEO of Swim Across America, made the tone clear when he said, “Everybody’s here making waves. By the way, this is not a competitive swim,” setting expectations that this is about support, not timing. Swimmers ranged from casual participants to teenagers who brought friends and family to watch them cross the surf for a cause.
The fundraising numbers give the event weight in dollars and in hope. “Over $2 million has been raised since this charity swim was started. It all stays in this community and funds pediatric research with our beneficiary, Johns Hopkins All Children’s. It’s very meaningful,” Butcher said, underscoring that local funding supports local trials and treatment options. Those funds are funneled into clinical research that aims to change outcomes for children who get a cancer diagnosis.
Young swimmers carried the personal stories that make those dollars more than a number. “I have some family members that were struggling through cancer,” said Piper Bozeman, a 13-year-old swimmer. “Sadly, one of them passed away and now I know one of my close neighbors actually she’s a kid and she’s fighting brain cancer right now. So, I just feel very passionate about keep swimming and showing support for everyone in my community,” she added, which is why she keeps coming back to the water.
Other teens voiced a similar mix of urgency and optimism. “I think it’s really important for people to keep on researching and this event really means a lot so that we can hopefully find a cure in the near future,” said Geiger Feliciano, a 15-year-old swimmer. Cade Clark, 16, combined performance and purpose when he sang the national anthem before racing in the surf and said, “It’s really touching to be able to swim for them and raise money for them in hopes that we can someday have a cancer-free society,” adding a deeply felt reason for everyone’s participation.
The money Swim Across America generates is targeted to concrete research goals rather than general awareness. All the money from the swim goes towards clinical trials, developing cures and to help prevent childhood cancer, and organizers highlighted how early seed funding can move a concept toward a tested therapy. That pipeline — local donors to local trials — is exactly how families in Pinellas County and beyond begin to see new options for children facing difficult diagnoses.
Jenine Rabin, Executive Vice President at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Foundation, explained the practical impact of that funding on clinical work. “Swim Across America helped us start this research study before it was a trial, so those early investments. Then it became a trial and now kids are enrolled in studies that allow their immune system to fight their cancer. So this is amazing because it allows kids to not have to be in that stage of, either they can’t be because of what their cancer is or it’s an alternative where they can have their immune systems fighting cancer instead of radiation and chemotherapy,” said Jenine Rabin, Executive Vice President at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Foundation. Her point was that money raised at a beach event can translate into tangible treatment alternatives for children.
The gathering felt like a reminder that community events can do more than spotlight an issue; they can create the funding and momentum researchers need. With Swim Across America running 27 chapters nationwide, what started as local action in St. Petersburg fits into a broader pattern of communities pushing for research progress. “The three words you never want to hear is there is cancer. But if you do, you want to hear these next three words, there is hope. And when you come to a morning like this, there is Hope,” Butcher concluded, and that message carried through the sand, the surf and the fundraising totals.
