Press release from Pardee Hospital Foundation:
More people have summitted Mount Everest than have swam the English Channel. At 55, Jeannie Zappe will attempt to add her name to the list of swimmers to complete the 21-mile journey, while also supporting the Pardee Hospital Foundation’s Women Helping Women program in honor of her mother-in-law, Carolyn Maloy. The 2021 Women Helping Women Luncheon is scheduled to be held Oct. 22 from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Blue Ridge Community College.The Women Helping Women program was started 24 years ago by women of Hendersonville who saw an opportunity for assisting women who didn’t have the financial resources for their own health care. Since its inception, Women Helping Women has raised more than $2 million to provide uninsured and underinsured women facing challenging medical conditions like cancer, osteoporosis, and heart disease with needed services through Pardee UNC Health Care.Zappe was inspired by her mother-in-law, Carolyn Maloy, who is a breast cancer survivor. “I decided to swim the English Channel three years ago and knew I wanted to add a charity arm to my swim,” Zappe said. “My mother-in-law fought a hard battle with breast cancer during the pandemic and I want to support this great program as a way to honor her.”Zappe has been swimming competitively for 20 years and for the last 11 years she has been doing open water swims. This will be the longest and most difficult swim of her career. “Swimming is a lifeline for me, and I want to see if my body can do this.” Zappe’s window for her swim is between August 28 and September 5. She anticipates it taking an estimated 15 hours, with 20 – 30 second periods of rest every 30 minutes. Zappe will be guided by a boat that will chart her course and lead her from England to France. You can follow Zappe’s swim in real time by joining her Facebook group.To buy tickets to the luncheon, email Jennifer.Mennell@unchealth.unc.edu. To support Zappe, visit her online store or visit https://www.pardeehospitalfoundation.org/donate-today to donate to the Women Helping Women fund.Pardee Hospital Foundation was approved as a non-profit Foundation in January 1996. The Foundation exists to educate and inspire the community to support Pardee Hospital. Since its inception, the Foundation has generated over $30 million in pledges and cash gifts for Pardee services.
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