Latest news with #LAPS
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Everyday Hero: 'Get under it' with the Lowcountry Splash
Around five hundred people will jump into the water on Saturday morning and 'get under it.' An idea that started 24 years ago has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for causes near and dear to the man who started it and has kept it going. Mark Rutledge, CEO of Rehab Carolina Physical Therapy, has reason to be excited. Two decades ago, he came up with the idea of the Lowcountry Splash while running the Cooper River Bridge Run. 'I ran the Bridge Run in like 1992 for the first time, and the motto, of course, is 'get over it' and I'm running it, and I'm an old swimmer; I swam in college, and I'm thinking it'd be cool to get under it. So that's where the idea was born, and then we made it happen in 2002,' Rutledge explained. The splash is a 2.4- or 6-mile swim starting in the Wando River and ending in the Charleston Harbor. It's an annual fan favorite for swimmers. In its early stages, it was a way for Rutledge to raise money for the neonatal intensive care unit at the Medical University of South Carolina, a foundation in his son Logan's name. 'He was born prematurely. He was born at 24 ½ weeks and was in the neonatal intensive care unit at MUSC. He was doing great. They were actually amazed at how well he had been doing for how early he had been born, and then he got an infection. In two days, he died from heart problems,' Rutledge said. 'So, he lived for a month.' The Lowcountry Splash made hundreds of thousands of dollars in the early stages, but a trip to Edisto soon directed the dollars to a new cause. 'We were at Edisto visiting friends, and two kids drowned while we were there. We heard the helicopters, we heard the ambulances, and we were all ex-swimmers at South Carolina. We didn't know what was going on. So I started investigating that and found out that South Carolina had the fourth highest drowning rate per capita in the country.' After discovering this, Rutledge decided to change directions and redirect the money to a program that teaches people how to swim, the Lowcountry Aquatic Program Swimming (LAPS). LAPS teaches students from kindergarten through first grade in Charleston County. 'We were up to teaching 1,700 kids with free swim lessons of kindergarteners and first graders when we were really at our peak before COVID,' Rutledge said. COVID killed the program, but Rutledge is working hard to restore it. The fun fact is that in the 23 swims that have been, no one has ever been bitten by a shark. The splash has raised around $1 million since its inception and will be heading into its 24th race this Saturday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Global News
07-05-2025
- General
- Global News
Pets languishing in Vancouver shelter due to no-social media policy, volunteer says
A volunteer with the Vancouver Animal Shelter claims pets are waiting longer than necessary for their forever homes because the city of Vancouver is not utilizing the free and wide-ranging reach of social media platforms to showcase its adoptable animals. As of Tuesday, 11 pets, including six dogs, several guinea pigs, rabbits and gerbils, were up for adoption on the city's website which has links to an 'available pets' page. 'We have dogs that are sitting for eight, nine, 10 months,' said volunteer Rhianydd Bellis. 'There (are) animals that have been inside for over a year at this point.' 1:18 Global Okanagan Adopt A Pet: Wilbur & Templeton Bellis has written to the city's mayor and council, asking that they allow Vancouver Animal Shelter (VAS) to set up its own Facebook and Instagram accounts like other Metro Vancouver municipalities have done for similar animal facilities. Story continues below advertisement 'In my view, the city of Vancouver is prioritizing its brand over the visibility of its animals,' Bellis told Global News in an interview. The volunteer said many in the community are not even aware that VAS exists. 'Vancouver is the outlier here; every single municipal shelter in Metro Vancouver has a very successful social media presence,' said Bellis. Surrey, Langley and New Westminster all have dedicated Facebook and Instagram pages to highlight their adoptable animals. In a May 1 Facebook post, Langley Animal Protection Society (LAPS) said social media enabled it to reach over 1.4 million views in April alone. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Every single view, like, comment, and share means more eyes on vulnerable animals, more chances for them to be seen, supported, and adopted,' read the LAPS post. The online visibility, LAPS said, means more forever homes found, more medical care funded and 'more love and hope for those who need it most.' 'You're not just following us — you're saving lives. You're not just sharing a post – you're giving an animal a second chance,' stated the LAPS post. 0:47 Global Okanagan Adopt A Pet: Grain of Sand In Vancouver, potential pet parents must navigate several links on the city's website before being directed to a page featuring adoptable animals. Story continues below advertisement 'It's very clear that this centralized social media policy is undermining the city's ability to get its animals seen,' said Bellis. Coun. Pete Fry with the Green Party found his previous dog Ruby at VAS, which he said he only knew about as a resident of the Strathcona neighbourhood. View image in full screen Pete Fry and his dog Ruby. Submitted 'When I adopted her she'd been there nine months, she'd been adopted twice and returned twice,' Fry told Global News in a Tuesday interview. 'She was kind of a hard-luck case, she turned out to be an amazing dog though.' Fry agrees that a social media presence is needed to expedite pet adoptions and blames slow-moving bureaucracy and red tape for the city's current position. The City of Vancouver recently featured an adoptable dog bio on its Facebook page, and Fry said the April 10 post ended up being one of the most popular it has ever had. Story continues below advertisement 'I really do appreciate the volunteers who are strenuously advocating to make us move faster on this,' said Fry. 'At the end of the day, it's about fantastic dogs who are languishing in doggie jail, and honestly, they don't thrive in the pound necessarily.' On Monday and in advance of this story, Global News asked for access inside the taxpayer-funded VAS to film the adoptable pets, but the City of Vancouver denied our request, claiming visits require prior permission and are 'by appointment only.' The City of Vancouver also did not make anyone available for an interview on why its animal shelter has no social media channels, although an official spokesperson noted, 'Last August, Global News has featured some adoptable animals on the morning show which was greatly appreciated and impactful. We would be happy to do something similar when a spokesperson is available.' The city also issued a statement which did not directly answer questions from Global News. 'The City of Vancouver is deeply appreciative of the efforts of staff and volunteers involved with the care of animals at the City's animal shelter and shares the goal of spreading the word about adoptable animals in Vancouver,' it said. 'The City's social media channels are run by staff to ensure cohesion with our overarching social media strategy and industry and accessibility standards, along with allowing for community management support. Some smaller legacy accounts are still in use from a time when today's social media practices were not in effect.' Story continues below advertisement It added that 'work is underway to meet with staff and volunteers to better understand everyone's perspectives and explore a thoughtful, collaborative approach.' Bellis said she's been surprised by the amount of resistance and stonewalling she's encountered from the City of Vancouver on what she considers to be a no-brainer. 'It's very heartbreaking, and for me it's been extremely frustrating because the solution is so easy,' said Bellis.
