51-year-old Mississippi citizen Zane Hodge’s love for swimming bloomed in a curious way. It happened when he came across and signed up for a swimming ad in a 12-mile open water. Eventually, the contract turned him into “an adult onset swimmer”. Zane’s zest for swimming was instant; he is not a skilled swimmer, as he said, but after signing the Chattanooga, Tennessee contract for an ad in 2007, everything changed. 

He achieved many goals swimming after that, including the Chicot Challenge 8 times, swim the suck challenge, etc. Hodge visualized that his talent could be useful in achieving many more goals than merely swimming. He started his fundraising foundation called The ‘Diabetes Foundation Of Mississippi’ ( DFM), with Pool Fools as their first event.

Pool Fools- an inspiring fundraising event hosted by Zane Hodge

Pool Fools, the fundraising event hosted by Hodge, took place in Greenwood, Mississippi. Participation was free of charge. Anyone could come and raise funds for diabetes by setting and achieving goals for themselves in the Twin River Recreation Pool. Zane’s idea of Pool Fool is something like an open swim, but his motive was to raise funds for charity. All ranges of swimmers can participate in it, including beginners and professionals. Zane brought all the swimmers he knew to make it a successful event which did not only help in raising funds, but also worked as a stepping stone towards learning the skill of swimming for many.

Eventually, the event became a victory with 12 supports and 7 swimmers; where Zane completed his goal of 7 miles, and the other swimmers also completed their goals of 5 miles or less. A success of more than $6,000 in funds was collected by Zane at the Pool Fools event. But what is the striking motive behind this fundraising foundation?

Diabetes is the Focal point of the foundation.

Opting for diabetes as the base for his foundation was a premise drawn from a prolonged family history of diabetes. “My mother was a diabetic, her mother was a diabetic, her mother was a diabetic, her sisters were diabetic, and my wife is a diabetic. I also pastored a little church, and many within the church passed away from diabetes,” Hodge stated. Even Hodge himself endured a heart attack caused by diabetes. 

Now Hodge has organized many free swim events and athletic competitions to fundraise for his foundation. One of his unforgettable swimming fundraisers was in 2016, when he swam 22.38 miles. And indeed, the overall greatest fundraiser was “Crazy Man Quadrathon” in 2022, with a 55-mile bike ride, 10-mile run, 1-mile swim, and powerlifting, where the fund raised was around $9,000. Pool Fools is one of his most recent fundraising events for diabetes. 

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