Super Bowl Sunday Isn't All About Football For
City Firefighter Tom Ryan Of North Bellmore
LI Herald 1/29/09
It's
also about diving headlong into the icy
waters of the Atlantic Ocean to help
raise funds for the Make-A-Wish
Foundation, the organization that helped
his family enjoy life a little a few
years back when his children were very
ill.
This year will mark Ryan's fourth plunge
as a Polar Bear swimmer. He is one of
thousands expected to take part on
Sunday in the Long Beach Polar Bear
Club's 12th annual fundraiser. All
proceeds will go to Make-A-Wish, a
nonprofit group that grants the wishes
of children with life-threatening
illnesses.
"I donated a kidney to my daughter, and
my son was diagnosed with brain cancer,
and the Make-A-Wish Foundation stepped
in and gave us a real nice cruise," Ryan
said. "I got into it because of the
situation, how nice Make-A-Wish was to
my family. Ever since then, I said this
is the one thing I could do."
Ryan has persuaded many others to join
him in the swim. "It feels good," he
said. "It's great, and you're doing it
for a good reason."
The event has become so large that it
may earn a Guinness world record this
year for the largest group swim in cold
water. More than 6,000 swimmers and
spectators took part last year. Over $1
million has been raised for the cause to
date, making it possible to grant 155
wishes to children in Nassau County and
New York City.
Ryan first heard about the
event from a Bellmore friend who is also a friend of one the
swim's founders, Mike Bradley of Island Park. The fundraiser
began as a memorial to Bradley's son Paulie, who lost his battle
with a rare childhood cancer.
This year Ryan may single-handedly add more than 100 swimmers to
the cause. "Being a city fireman, I put it out to a bunch of
guys," he said. Ryan is a member of FDNY Ladder 155/Engine 302
in South Jamaica, Queens.
"Last year I had about 70 people going there, and this year I
have more people going -- firemen, friends, about 100 people
from around Bellmore and Merrick, about 20 guys from my
firehouse," Ryan said. "Tom O'Connor's doing it this year, and
his crew, the guys who go with him for the Katrina kids."
O'Connor is a retired FDNY lieutenant who runs the Katrina Kids
Christmas program, in which he and dozens of fellow firefighters
bring toys to children on the Gulf Coast who are still affected
by Hurricane Katrina.
What is it like to plunge into sub-40-degree ocean water?
"Everybody feels they're going to have a heart attack," Ryan
said. "You're not going to have a heart attack. Does it shock
you? Absolutely. There's no question there, but you say, What
the hell. It's for a good cause." Last year the water
temperature was 36 degrees, and the air temperature was a frigid
12.
"I've told a lot of people about it," Ryan said. "Everybody I've
told about it who has done it says they can't wait till next
year to do it. It's that inspirational. It's that cool to do."
To join in the fundraiser or donate to the
cause, or for more information on the Long Beach Polar Bear
Club, go to longbeachpolarbears.org or call (516) 897-2327.
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