Fargo Davies Holds 15th Annual Swim-a-Thon
The program has held the event every year since its inception, inspired by coach Jen Johnson's dedication to community service.
FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – Any swimmer will tell you how reluctant they are to first jump in the water – especially on a Saturday, when they’d rather be home on the couch than swimming eleven thousand yards.
The Saturday of January 18, though, isn’t any ordinary practice.
It’s the Eagles’ annual Swim-a-Thon – a fundraiser that benefits a different local organization each year.
In 2026, the team settled on Matthew’s Voice, a nonprofit focused on assisting Fargo-Moorhead area high school students who are experiencing homelessness.
“We want to make sure it goes to somebody that could really use some extra,” said head coach Jen Johnson.
Johnson has been here since the inception of the Davies swim program, which means she’s been here for all 15 of these Swim-a-Thons, and she says instilling in these boys a sense of community service is an even greater task than making sure they’re fast in the water.
“Part of our job, and I would argue probably our main job, is to raise these guys to be good young men and good citizens, and so this really pairs well with that citizenship aspect, and them learning to care about somebody outside of themselves,” she said.
Jen knows that’s what’s driving these swimmers forward, lap after lap, earning money with each stroke thanks to the pledges they collected prior to the event – well, that and them hitting their fundraising goal means they get to force their coach to join them in the pool.
In the previous 14 years of the Swim-a-Thon, the team has collected over $50,000 for charity in total.
Organizations they’ve given to include the Fargo-Moorhead Humane Society, Gigi’s Playhouse, and the Ronald McDonald House of the Red River Valley.
