BAINBRIDGE – More than 60 island athletes will spend Saturday, Aug. 22 going several extra miles — some will swim, some will kayak and others will sail — to raise money and awareness for Arms Around Bainbridge.

Founded in 2007 by a group of seven friends with a 30-mile swim around the island and the goal to provide financial and emotional support to a friend as she battled ovarian cancer, Arms Around Bainbridge has grown to become a staple figure in the island’s philanthropic community. The group

The group now provides financial and emotional support to numerous island residents facing financial crisis as a result of serious illness. An all-volunteer effort, the group raises money to help recipients with essentials such as prescriptions, rent, ferry passes, groceries, childcare during medical treatments and even wheelchair batteries, officials said.

The annual round-the-island relay swim event is an anchor fundraising and awareness event for the group, officials said. This year the group saw the stakes raised even further when an anonymous donor offered $10,000 if the community could match the amount in individual fundraising.

Already, group officials said, “our community has not only matched the $10,000 gift, but upped the ante with four business sponsorships.”

Aspect Consulting, Island Fitness, JL Racing, and Windemere Real Estate are each sponsoring one leg of the approximately 25-mile circumnavigation.

Recently, noted Seattle-based distance swimmer Andrew Malinak became the first person to swim around the entire island in an attempt to raise awareness for the upcoming fundraiser relay.

Participants are expected to depart at approximately 9:15 a.m. from Point White Dock.

Visit www.armsaroundbainbridge.org/events to learn more and to make a donation.