NROTC swims for Haiti relief efforts

The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) holds a community service event every semester, and this spring they decided to make the relief efforts for Haiti their mission, according to Gunnery Sergeant Jamie Tsang.

The idea came about after Tsang read an article on CNN about a 7-year-old boy who raised nearly $200,000 for Haiti. Tsang mentioned this to the midshipmen staff and thus a fundraising event was born.

Norwich's NROTC sponsored the "Swim for Haiti Relief" fundraiser, which began on Friday, Feb 26, at 4 p.m. and lasted exactly 24 hours.

"The idea came about to swim for 24 hours as a unit in order to raise funds for Haiti relief. The concept was that each student would get sponsored for every lap that was swum," Tsang said.  "Overall we wanted the unit to have someone in the pool for 24 hours straight."

The fundraiser was held in the Goodyear pool, and all Norwich students, staff, and faculty were encouraged to participate.  Roughly 200 participants showed, together swimming over 150 miles and raising more than $2,800.

Once all of the money has been collected, it will be delivered to the American Red Cross in Berlin, according to Tsang.

 "Our goal was to raise as much money as possible to donate to the American Red Cross who would use it in their help relief fund for Haiti," said Dana Flieger, 20, a junior nursing major from Winsted, Conn.

Flieger was one of the event coordinators and helped organize the event and advertise it around campus.  

"I was at the pool to supervise and check people in from 8 a.m – 4 p.m. on Saturday," Flieger said.

"We had pledge forms for the swimmers to fill out. We also had sheets with the swimmer's name, how many laps they swam, how much money their sponsor were willing to donate for each lap, and whether they paid or not."

According to staff, participants were encouraged to fill out a pledge form and have their donations to the Naval Department as soon as possible. 

One member from the NROTC staff, one life guard and one student organizer was on the pool deck at all times, according to Tsang.

SSgt Andrew Coons was one of the many swimmers to participate during the 24-hour Swim for Haiti Relief. 

"I thought the event was a good idea. It allowed us here in the middle of Vermont be able to do our part on an international level," said Coons, 28, a junior biology major from Hudson N.Y. "That is what we as future officers are supposed to do – do our part to support the interests of the United States."

Every event the NROTC participates in is used by the staff to instill some type of lesson to prepare students for future careers in the Naval Service.

"These fundraising events give us an opportunity to instill community service and leadership skills for the midshipmen to expand upon," Tsang said.