NEW ORLEANS –This summer, the Brooke Erin Posey Foundation raised $12,350 for Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Louisiana in its fourth annual Brooke E. Posey Swim-a-Thon.

The swim-a-thon, affectionately known as “Swim for Brooke,” had to change its format to “Swim Anywhere” in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They had 50 registered swimmers participate, the most the swim-a-thon has ever had, according to foundation executive director Melissa Corass. 

“While 31 of our swimmers chose to swim traditional laps, others chose to push their limits in non-traditional ways by setting their own personal challenges,” said Corass.  Participant ages and abilities ranged greatly, with swimmers as young as two years old, to a swimmer whose personal challenge had him swimming in the San Francisco Bay and harbor. 

Brooke Posey, before her death in 2017, was an avid swimmer and member of the Southern Yacht Club Seagulls, and the Swim-a-Thon is held annually to support children’s charities. 

Remarks, followed by awards and check presentation, were offered during a Facebook Live event at the Southern Yacht Club by Foundation officers Ernest Posey and Corass, and Swim-a-Thon committee members Marie Gregory, Elizabeth Ehrensing, and Becky Livaudais. On hand to accept the check was Bob Van Den Akker, manager of support services at the local RMHC chapter which operates Ronald McDonald House New Orleans, a ‘home away from home’ for families of seriously ill or injured children needing medical treatment in the New Orleans area.