Swim-A-Thon Fundraiser

Fourth Annual Swim-A-Thon: July 15, 2025

VHCHE partners with Orange Hunt Swim Team on its mission to improve the lives of children in underserved and underprivileged communities locally and globally.

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VHCHE, in partnership with the Orange Hunt Swim Team located in West Springfield, VA is hosting its Fourth Annual Swim A Thon Fundraiser at Orange Hunt Swim and Tennis Club on Tuesday July 15^th, 2025, from 7:00am – 11:00am. The event is open to swimmers, parents, and volunteers of all ages, from mini sharks to master swimmers with the purpose of raising funds to help provide drinking water to children and families in rural underserved and underprivileges villages of Cameroon, as well as supporting education initiatives in Cameroon. This competition provides swimmers a great opportunity to challenge themselves and increase their personal best, and parents who participate with their children can use this event as an opportunity to empower their children, create a family bond, and encourage them to do selfless acts for others while improving their skills. The funds raised for this year’s swim-a-thon will be used to drill a drinking water well in the village of Mbeme near Mamfe in the Southwest anglophone region of Cameroon.

Last year, over 100 swimmers and volunteers braved the heat wave (90+F) and in four hours, 9,407 laps (143 miles) were swum collectively, far exceeding the goal of 7,000 laps and about $13K raised. The funds were used to fully fund the drilling and construction of a drinking water wells in the rural village of Babouantou, Cameroon in February 2025. The well is supported by a submersible pump, a covered storage tower, a 3,000-gallon storage tank, and several distribution points with multiple faucets and serves over two thousand children and families and significantly alleviates the burden of children walking miles in some instances to fetch water from the nearest spring for their family. For the first time Viridiane’s Hope used solar energy to power the well, saving the burden of electric bills on the already poor community. Records at last year’s event included mini sharks swimming a combined mile, a first 6-year-old swimming 18 laps, 15-year-old swimming 6 miles, a parent swimming 100 laps, and several competitors going well above and beyond their stated goals for the competition! This fundraising event scored a participation of over 100 individual donors!

This summer we are continuing to expand our efforts to include youth in the planning, delivery, and follow-up and inviting any interested rising Middle School and High School Students from Orange Hunt Pool to join our Youth Advisory Council for the Swim-A-Thon. This will be a great chance to learn how nonprofits organize events, earn service learning/volunteer hours, be part of the action, and have a lot of fun.

Ways to support

• Sponsor a swimmer for any amount, for any number of laps swam, anywhere from 1 lap to 66 laps.
• Match contributions up to a certain amount for sponsorship made for swimmers. 
• Donate any amount to support the cause. 
• Fund a drinking water well for $10,000 – $16,000. These wells are powered by electricity, with a 1,000 – 3,000-gallon reserve tank and two to three distribution systems with four faucets each and will serve a population of about 2,000 to 5,000 people. 
• Donate for the construction of the school.

VHCHE also plans to build an English speaking 1-6 grade school with a clinic and computer literacy center in the diocese of Nkongsamba, at Saint Anne Catholic School in New Melong. This village is located on the border province between the Francophone and Anglophone sections of Cameroon which is receiving many English-speaking families who are fleeing the war and have no local infrastructure to accommodate their learning curriculum in English. VHCHE has successfully carried out infrastructure projects that are sustainable in the area. 

Viridiane’s Hope is a Virginia 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a Catholic Charity of the Arlington Diocese, OCD #456048. VHCHE’s mission of bringing joy to other children was born out of sorrow, and the help VHCHE is providing to children in need was built out of desperation; it’s a nonprofit organization that was founded by grieving parents to celebrate and remember their daughter through health and education programs that support its mission. VHCHE relies on the support of general donors and benefactors to accomplish this mission.

Photos and videos of the Swim A Thon are available at https://www.facebook.com/viridianeshope.vhche/.

You can make a tax deductible donation in support of the cause.

More information about the swim-a-thon can be found here.