Swim With A Mission raises money to help veterans groups at event
“Your grief is never going to get any smaller, but your life will grow larger.”
— Rachel Anderson
Swim With A Mission will host an open water swim race on Saturday, July 13 to honor our country’s military veterans on Newfound Lake at Wellington State Park in Bristol.
David Ball, who has been participating in the annual event for several years, served in the Army Reserve as a firefighter from 1991 until 1997.
“Swim With A Mission is the highlight of my year,” Ball said. “I get to help motivate others on their physical journey and pay honor to those who are no longer with us.”
Becoming involved with the Bedford-based nonprofit has helped Ball cope with both the loss of a close friend and recovering from an auto accident.
“I spent my time stateside supporting military and civilian training operations,” Ball said. “In 2007, my close friend Army Staff Sgt. Brad Svoboda perished while on a humanitarian mission in Panama, and his loss devastated me.”
A couple of years later, Ball faced major trauma of his own.
“In 2009, I got into a major car accident, totaling the car that I purchased from Brad. As part of rehab, I was jogging and really took to it finding peace while running.
Once fully recovered, I started racing in local 5Ks.”
In 2014, Ball started running in a 22-pound bulletproof vest and with the American flag to bring awareness to veterans suicide.
“I joined Swim With A Mission in 2017 and competed in the 5K swim and was kept on track by my best friend, Jason, who is a Navy veteran,” Ball said. “In 2017 and 2018, I just swam the 5K distance. In 2019, I decided to push my limits and pull a kayak while swimming. In the seat of the kayak was a 22-pound vest for veterans suicide awareness. I swam for three years alone pulling the kayak, and in 2022 I formed ‘Team Honor The Fallen’ and opened it up to others to pull the honor kayak.”
The Taub family, from left: Benjamin, Dani, Julie, and Phil (Courtesy of swam.org)
Newfound Lake, one of the cleanest in America, will be the site of 1K, 5K or 10K individual swim races on July 13. There will also be a 10K team relay.
Veterans, Gold Star family members and a supportive civilian community will come together to compete, volunteer and raise funds to support veterans and surviving family members of loved ones who were lost while serving their country.
Phil and Julie Taub founded Swim With A Mission (SWAM) in 2017. Their website describes their mission as being a “sustainable and successful not-for-profit activity, that harnesses the creativity and networks of its principal supporters to raise money to strengthen and support worthy organizations that service, support and honor our veterans.”
“We began the swimming event in 2017,” Julie Taub said. “The July 13 event will be our eighth of that type.”
“Our programs help groups of veterans from small to large,” said Phil Taub. “Another of the fundraising events is Paintball With A Mission. In the past, our paintball event — featuring a Navy SEAL team from Florida that was both active duty and retired — raised a million dollars to support veterans and their families.”
“We are very pleased with the growing support of our programs,” said Julie Taub. “We would also like to take this opportunity to encourage people to support the Honor Wall and also our Never Forget Plaques.”
Swim With A Mission will host an open-water swim race to honor our country’s military veterans on Newfound Lake at Wellington State Park in Bristol on July 13. (Courtesy of swam.org)
The participation and camaraderie generated by these veteran support events is evident on the website in photographs and videos.
“The vibe at these events is palpable,” Julie said. “It truly is an extended family and a great support network.”
Since 2017, SWAM has given almost $10 million to veteran service and support organizations that provide critical services to veterans. These services include mental health services, housing, taking care of our homeless, supporting day-to-day services, providing service and support dogs, scholarships, food, jobs, equine immersion programs, recreational therapy and support art therapy programs.
Sal DeFranco served on U.S. Navy SEAL Team 3 and deployed to Iraq between 2004 and 2010. He regularly supports and competes in the SWAM events.
“The time and energy expended to help veterans in these events is amazing to witness,” DeFranco said. “I have been involved in the program for about three years, and I’m very impressed with the professionalism of the team. The Honor Wall is very meaningful, as it honors the 97 veterans from New Hampshire that have been killed in action or killed in training while serving since 2001. Also, it should be mentioned that there have been some 900 New Hampshire veteran suicides as well in that time frame; all the more reason that these services are supported.”
Other annual events include Ride With A Mission and the Green Beret With A Mission Challenge.
Emmanuelle Beaurpere is a 2021 University of New Hampshire graduate in international economics and international affairs.
“New North Ventures has been intertwined with Swim With A Mission for quite some time, actively participating in their events,” Beaurpere said. “Fresh out of college, I had just started my career at New North and was living in Colorado with my family. Out of the blue, I got an invitation that was impossible to resist: ‘How about playing paintball with Navy SEALs?’ I immediately booked a flight out to New Hampshire, because where else can you find an opportunity like that!”
William Blake Marston was a Navy SEAL who died during a parachute training exercise at the age of 31. (Courtesy of runforthefallennh.com)
The weekend turned out to be “nothing short of incredible,” she said.
“It wasn’t just about dodging paintballs and tactical maneuvers; it was about the incredible connections I made,” Beaurpere said. “The camaraderie was palpable, formed through shared laughter and spirited competition. What struck me the most was the sense of community — a vibrant fellowship brought together by SWAM’s commitment to supporting our veterans. As the daughter and sister of military service members and a proud member of the New Hampshire Army National Guard myself, these connections were particularly meaningful.”
Nancy Marston of Rye lost her son Blake in 2015.
“SWAM performs a huge service to veterans and Gold Star families,” Marston said. “I find that this veteran support group has all of the qualities my son had: setting high goals, camaraderie and positive energy.”
This past Memorial Day, her home had several American flags and an Honor and Remember Flag flying outside of her house.
“Blake was both humble and imposing,” Marston said.
Swim With A Misson
Swim With A Mission raises more than $150,000 every year for veterans services through its annual event at Newfound Lake. Volunteers also can create personal fundraising pages to help raise money for local, regional and national organizations that service and support veterans and their families.
Visit swam.org for links to swimmer registration, volunteering and donations/sponsorships. Volunteering opportunities include land (check-in, merchandise sales, clean up and medals) and water support (paddlers and boat support).
Swimmers for the July 13 event must be:
• In good health and capable of making the swim distance.
• A strong enough swimmer to complete the race in under four hours and 15 minutes.
• Be a member of U.S. Masters swimming. (Please provide your number when registering or purchase a one-day membership.)
This year, the races are a sanctioned U.S. Master’s Event.
Past swims have had up to 200 participants, and the age range was 7 to 70 years old. Veterans with service dogs had their dogs take a plunge in the lake as well.
