A Carter County father-daughter team recently raised more than $1,300 for a local community service organization while getting to do something they both love.
James Monroe and his 11-year-old daughter Hannah raised $1,355 for the TLC Community Center while completing a 10 kilometer swim on Oct. 22 at the Kingsport Aquatic Center.
“I swam 4k and he swam 6k,” said Hannah, who attends Happy Valley Middle School.
Both James and Hannah are members of a swim team in Kingsport called “Swim For Them” that allows swimmers to use their skills to raise money for charity organizations.
“You pick a charity and how far you are going to swim,” Hannah said. “Before you swim you ask people to support you for your charity.”
This is the second year Hannah has raised money for the TLC Community Center through Swim For Them but it was the first year for James. Last year, Hannah raised $1,275 for the Center with her swim.
Hannah, her father James, and her mother Audra first got involved with the TLC Community Center through their church, New Liberty Free Will Baptist. The family volunteered one summer with the Center’s Summer Food Program that provides meals to children throughout the community during the school system’s summer break.
“I decided it would be a good charity to raise money for,” Hannah said.
After the first year, James decided to join his daughter in swimming for the TLC Community Center.
“We are really fascinated by how much (TLC Director) Angie (Odom) does for the community,” James said.
This year marks Hannah’s fourth with the Swim For Them club, though she has been swimming since the age of 4. “I’ve been in the water forever,” she said.
For more information on Swim For Them, visit the organization’s website at www.swimforthem.org.
The TLC Community Center provides a variety of services to families and children in the community. For more information on the Center or its programs, contact them at 423-543-4673.