Charity swim raises €14,000 in aid of MCCF

Record 330 swimmers help collect €14,000 during annual Thomas Smith Charity Swim

A record 330 swimmers took part in the annual Thomas Smith Charity Swim to help collect €14,000 in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund • Photos: David Caruana Dingli
A record 330 swimmers took part in the annual Thomas Smith Charity Swim to help collect €14,000 in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund • Photos: David Caruana Dingli

A record 330 swimmers braved the winter sea this morning, taking the plunge in Sliema during the annual Thomas Smith Charity Swim.

Swimmers, young and old and some sporting Christmas-themed clothing and Christmas hats, gathered in Balluta Bay to help collect €14,000 in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund.

Held every year since 1999 under the patronage of the President of the Republic, this year marks the seventeenth edition of the Thomas Smith Charity Swim.

Alfred Abela and Wilfred Pirotta, both 79 year old, were the oldest participants, while 3-year-old Eva Testa was the youngest participant as she completed the swim in her mother’s arms. Eva’s sister Julia and Benji Scranz, both aged five years old, were also among the participants.

In a brief address to the swimmers before they jumped into the cold sea, President of the Republic Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca thanked everyone for their support to the Malta Community Chest Fund.

She commended Thomas Smith Group for organising the Charity Swim on an annual basis and thanked the Company for contributing towards the final amount donated before presenting medals to participants.

Before this year, the largest number of swimmers was in 2013 when 299 swimmers participated, while in 2014, the annual charity event attracted a total of 252 participants.

“What started off as a bet between friends at Christmas time in 1999, has now become an annual appointment on the calendar of events of the Office of the President and Thomas Smith.”

“The Thomas Smith Charity Swim continues to attract an ever-growing number of swimmers, expressing their solidarity and altruism by jumping into the cold sea to raise substantial sums of money for the Malta Community Chest Fund,” said Joe Gerada, Managing Director at Thomas Smith Group.

Joe Gerada, together with Anton Buttigieg, Project Cargo Business Development Manager and Liana Cachia, Group HR & Marketing Manager – the team behind the organisation and coordination of the Thomas Smith Christmas Charity Swim – will present the cheque to H.E. Marie Louise Coleiro Preca at San Anton Palace in early January.