Fundraiser for Pasadena Nonprofit ‘Swim With Mike’ Featuring Olympic Gold Medal Swimmer John Naber, Other Olympians

Swim With Mike, the nonprofit that Pasadena resident Mike Nyeholt founded to provide financial resources for physically challenged athletes’ advanced education, will live-stream its virtual 40th Anniversary celebration via YouTube premiering on Saturday, April 10, at 4 p.m.

With the event, Swim With Mike encourages all of their Campaign Directors across the country to “do virtually anything” they can to get sponsored for their fundraising efforts this year.

The virtual celebration will showcase select campaigns and live music, surprise guests, candid interviews, comedy, a world premiere sneak peek at the Swim With Mike feature documentary, and some very important Swim With Mike program announcements.

This year also debuts the first-ever 40×40 event, where 1976 Olympic Gold Medal swimmer John Naber led 40 top fundraising swimmers – composed of Olympians, World-elite athletes, and swim enthusiasts – in a relay for up to 40 minutes each.

The socially distanced swim occurred at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center in Pasadena Saturday, with highlights to be featured during the live-streamed virtual celebration on April 10.

Nyeholt, a three-time All American USC swimmer, started Swim With Mike in 1981 after he was involved in a tragic motorcycle accident that left him paralyzed.

Ron Orr, his lifelong friend and swim teammate, and now executive director of Swim with Mike, helped conceive the event originally as a swim-a-thon fundraiser, intending to purchase an appropriately equipped van so Nyeholt could continue his professional career and adapt to his new life.

After quickly surpassing the goal, the event’s success led to a visionary decision for Swim With Mike to partner with USC’s Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund. Since 1981, the organization has been providing financial resources for advanced education, allowing physically challenged athletes from across the nation to help overcome their tragedies by realizing their full potential.

Today, 40 years later, Nyeholt’s teammates and friends, along with hundreds of dedicated volunteers, swimmers, sponsors, campaign directors, and donors, have raised over $25 million. Swim With Mike has supported 253 scholarship recipients at 131 universities nationwide. Over 200 alumni recipients have gone on to lead rich fulfilling lives as doctors, lawyers, engineers, actors, social workers, accountants, and teachers.

To take part in the live streamed event on Saturday, visit www.swimwithmike.org/40th-annual-swm-event-sign-ups, fill out the form and submit online. By signing up, you are automatically entered for a chance to win awesome prizes.

To learn more about Swim With Mike, visit www.swimwithmike.org/overview/history.