A recent Mary Ward Catholic Sceondary School grad is taking the plunge for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS also known as Lou Gehrig's disease).
Meredith Poole and her friend Julia Almeida are swimming from Winderemere House on Lake Rosseau to her family's cottage on Brackenrig Bay on Sunday, Aug. 2. The pair have been practising daily to prepare for their long distance swim.
"I have always believed that it is important for those who are able to help raise awareness of various illnesses or issues should actively do so," Poole said in a press release to the Toronto Catholic District School Board.
"In this case, my motivation comes from personally witnessing someone with this sickness. Both Julia and I have a mutual good friend who suffered a great loss as a result of ALS. This is just a small way of us giving back to her and her family,"
Poole and Almeida have raised more than $1,600 for ALS research so far.
Poole also did a similar swim in 2005 to raise money for breast cancer research in memory of her paternal grandmother, her maternal grandmother and great aunt.
She graduated from Mary Ward with a 92 per cent average and will be attending the University of British Columbia in September.