Man Swims 22 Miles to Raise Money for Patients With Leukemia

CLL Society Inc.

P.O. Box 1390

Claremont, CA 91711

Contact: Patricia Koffman, Executive Director

(949)338-1916

[email protected]

https://cllsociety.org For Immediate Release

LA MAN SWIMMING 22 MILES FROM CATALINA ISLAND TO RANCHO PALOS VERDES AUGUST 4-5, RAISING FUNDS FOR LEUKEMIA PATIENTS

LOS ANGELES, CA (July 24, 2018) A generous heart, grief for a loved one, months of physical and mental training, a grueling 22-mile solo ocean swim and a GoFundMe page will all be in play August 4 when Stanton (Stan) Kurtz of Tarzana enters the water at Two Harbors, Catalina Island at midnight and braves 12 hours of ocean waves (6 in darkness / 6 in daylight) to swim the Catalina Channel, arriving at noon on August 5th at the rocky Terranea Beach in Rancho Palos Verdes, raising much-needed funds for the CLL Society, the nation’s only patient—centric, physician–curated non-profit dedicated to addressing the unmet needs of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) patients and their caregivers.

Stanton is channeling his grief over the loss of his father-in-law, Saul Levi, who passed away from Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) on April 15, by honoring him with this swim and raising funds for the CLL Society, which brings critical support to families struggling with the condition. “The pain is too much not to do something. I want to harness it to help others,” says Kurtz.

The GoFundMe: Swim Catalina for Leukemia donations will give a significant boost to the CLL Society’s ability to lead patient support groups across the country, offer free expert 2^nd opinions to underserved CLL patients, distribute CLL news alerts, conduct live educational forums and to publish interviews with leading CLL researchers from around the world on its website https://cllsociety.org.

CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia) is the most common adult blood cancer in the US and is classified as both a leukemia and a lymphoma.

Onboard the escort boat Bottom Scratcher will be the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation’s Official Observers ensuring that their strict rules are adhered to. For Stan to be officially recognized as the 452^nd Catalina Channel Solo Swimmer in 90 years, he must cross the channel from the natural connecting shore unassisted and without a wetsuit, touch the opposite natural connecting shore and clear the high-water line by himself. Water temperatures are expected to be in the 60’s and Stan is the only swimmer scheduled to cross the night of the 4th.

To make a GoFundMe donation to Stan Kurtz’s swim to benefit those with leukemia, go to https://www.gofundme.com/swimcatalinaforleukemia

For live updates and GPS tracking of Stan’s swim visit the following:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stankurtz2

Live Tracking: https://track.rs/swimcatalinaforleukemia2