If you are receiving this letter you are somehow involved with the North Atlanta Swim Association. You have seen first hand the strength of the swimming community. We are hoping your summer league team can help make a difference in the life of a young swimmer.

Marin Morrison just turned 16 years old this week. She swam for Swim Atlanta (Sugarloaf), the Richland Hills summer team (Gwinnett County), and Collins Hill High School. Marin seemed Olympic-bound to those of us who admired her from the side of the pool, until she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Marin and family have fought this tumor with every resource you can imagine. Surgeries, chemo, radiation, acupuncture, diet, and every therapy under the sun – they’ve explored it all. Marin’s tumor has, sadly, proved to be quite aggressive. She is currently participating in a clinical trial at Seattle Children’s Hospital since her father’s job required a difficult move there recently. Surgery and intensive drugs have left her with serious motor and cognitive challenges.

There aren’t enough words in the dictionary to describe the strength and grace with which Marin has fought this battle. There are legions of people who have followed her journey through her website. Although many of us have never met Marin in person, we know a hero when we see one! And we are hoping that your summer league team will help to give this hero a little help.

We are collecting swim-related items for a “Swim Marin Strong” basket to be raffled off at the NASA meet on July 8-9. We are hoping that each team in the league will donate one item so that the basket will be awesome! All proceeds from the raffle will be donated to Marin to offset the staggering costs of her treatment.

If you are as inspired by Marin’s story as we are, please contact Whitney June via phone or email (listed on page 2) to let us know what item your team will contribute. We will come to your pool to pick up your donation. We are also looking for some volunteers to help man the sales table during the different sessions of the NASA meet. We are hoping to sell the tickets for a cost of $5 each and will be accepting donations as well. The winner will not need to be present to win since this is a two day meet. We will also have a LARGE card for well-wishers to send Marin a note of encouragement.

Thanks in advance for your help with this project. We encourage you to visit Marin’s website at www2.caringbridge.com/ga/marin to learn even more about her inspiring story. We are looking forward to putting a smile on her face!!!

Sincerely,
Mary Helen Jackson (Alpharetta Sharks)
Whitney June (Spring Ridge Stingrays)
Whitney June’s contact information
Email – wjune@charter.net
Phone- 770-594-2668 (home) or 770-329-8731 (cell)

Items to consider for donation:
*Please make sure to call before purchasing so that we don’t have 52 pairs of goggles!!!

Swim caps
Goggles
Beach towels
Chamois towels
Pull buoys
Hand paddles
Fins
Mesh Equipment bags
Stopwatches
Shampoo and conditioner
Suits (male and female, any size)
Swim t-shirts or other apparel (hats, pajama pants, etc)
Sweatshirts
Tote bags
Water bottles
Swim-themed key chains to hang on the tote bags
IPod gift cards (for making inspirational playlists to psych our swimmers up)

Whatever else you see that looks like a great item for a swim-themed raffle basket!!!