Firefighter raising money for Caring Voice with swim

Carol Leach, a Walled Lake firefighter, will be raising money for charity by swimming the length of the city’s namesake on Sunday, Aug. 12.

Leach, a 10-year veteran of the Walled Lake Fire Department, volunteered to swim the 1.25-mile stretch that begins at Novi’s Lakeshore Beach and finishes at the Bayside Bar and Grille dock at E. V. Mercer Beach in Walled Lake to raise money for the Caring Voice Coalition.

“One of our family friends has a life-threatening and chronic disease that requires medication that the organization pays for,” Leach said. “If they didn’t (pay for it), she said she would be out on the streets.”

The Caring Voice Coalition’s mission to is empower patients who live with a life-threatening chronic disease through comprehensive outreach programs and services aimed at financial, emotional, and educational support.

It’s also known for its holistic approach to improving the lives of patients.

This is Leach’s fourth time swimming for a cause. Over the last four years, Leach has committed to swimming the length of Walled Lake to raise money for fire department needs or charity. Her efforts helped raise $1,200 in 2009 for the fire department’s Dive Team equipment; $2,600 in 2010 for the department’s auto pulse apparatus; and $540 last year for Hospitality House.

“For the last two years I’ve been swimming for charity because they need the help more than the department does since the economy is so bad,” Leach said.

Leach is no novice in the water. She has been swimming her whole life and has worked as a lifeguard and swim instructor.

The fund-raising swim is estimated to take 1 hour.

Spectators are encouraged to attend the event. Donations or pledges will be accepted. Checks, payable to Caring Voice Coalition, can be dropped off or mailed to the Walled Lake Fire Station at 1499 E. West Maple Road, Walled Lake, 48390.