Piranhas team swims powered by pie
Jason Shueh/Valley Press Bottoms up! Makiya DuBois, age 5, gobbles the last few escaping crumbs in her bowl while letting gravity do the work. After pushing themselves through a flurry of laps and strokes for the Sidekick fundraiser, swimmers flocked to the pie stand for blackberry, apple, peach, and cherry flavoried nourishment.
Don't underestimate the power of pie. It's a three-letter word that can have an appetite for grabbing attention. Just ask the Plains Piranhas Swim Team that held their Homemade Pie and Dessert Social last Thursday at the Plains Pool.
Nawatha Campbell, the president of the swim team, said that from their pie sales alone they were able to raise $254 for next year's swim team program. The 14 pies were donated by families and friends of the swimmers and included cherry, apple and blackberry under the crusts. There was also one peach and one blackberry cobbler and two chocolate bundt cakes.
They also earned an additional $648 from their Sidekick fund raiser that was held on the same night for a total of $902. The Sidekick fundraiser required participants to get pledges and per-lap donations for the each lap they swam that evening. By the end of the event the 12 people had swam 364 laps. Campbell said that the funds would definitely help the team as they prepared for next year and added that her goal for the year's fund raising was to earn between $6,000 and $8,000.
Unlike many sports in the public schools that are given partial or full funding, Campbell said that the swim team has to raise all the money themselves. The concept of ‘pay to play' isn't anything new to them.
“We've been doing fund raisers for years and next year we're looking for someone who can help us write grants,” Campbell said.
This season, Campbell estimates that, between with driving, fund raising and all the other organizational nuances that are involved with a swimming season, she's probably spent more than 200 hours helping out. Yet, despite the hard work she has no regrets.
“It keeps my kids healthy and off the streets, it's a great family time and the kids benefit because they can make friends all across the state,” Campbell said.
Her husband Prentiss supported his wife's beliefs.
“For kids, [swimming] builds character, it builds confidence, it builds everything. I couldn't imagine it any other way, the pay off is guaranteed.” Prentiss said.
Parents Jon and Toloni DuBois said that looking back at the season they appreciated the hard work of coaches Derek Danhof and Amanda Hansen.
“They keep my girls active for the summer and teach them life long skills,” Toloni said.
Lisa Whitcomb, the mother of Piranha Danika Whitcomb, said that she enjoyed the fund raisers that the team organizes each year and thought that the work was well worth the effort because of the personal growth she could see in her daughter.
“I think it gives her a sense of responsibility and it gives her discipline,” Whitcomb said about her daughter. “It also helps to have good coaches.”
Out of all the pie-eaters and all the swimmers, Curt Alexander and his 7-year-old daughter Grace earned the most money. Together, they gave the swim team $166 by paddling a total of 90 laps.
Alexander, a specialty buildre from Santa Monica, Calif., left his house at 4:30 a.m. so he could swim laps with his daughter in Plains.
“I've finally figured one thing out in life,” he said. “There are only so many days a man has to spend with his wife and kids doing something like this.”