GORHAM – On Sunday, March 10, at Hill Gymnasium on the campus of the University of Southern Maine in Gorham, nearly 200 adults and youth took to the court to raise money for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program. This year’s event marked the 30th and final annual Swish-Out Childhood Cancer Challenge, presented by Town & Country FCU. The tournament had a record-setting final shot with the 2024 event raising a new record amount of $61,000, which helped the tournament to collectively achieve the $750,000 milestone in its 30-year run.
Jon Paradise, SVP at Town & Country FCU, founded the tournament back in 1994, and said he never imagined it would last this long. “This is such a great example of how the community comes together to make a difference. When the tournament began, we had seven teams and raised $575. To think that we will conclude a 30-year run by raising more than $750K is amazing. This is because of the community that the event continued this long and made such an impact. I am grateful and thankful for the support we have had through the years. It’s been like an annual family reunion with so many people playing year after year so I will certainly miss that, but I wanted to end on a high note and we certainly have.”
Paradise said that he is proud that the Swish-Out has been the longest, continuous-running, 3-on-3, co-ed, charity basketball tournament in Maine. “After 30 years, the time has come to pass the ball, so to speak, to others for new fundraisers and events. While I remain deeply committed to MCCP and doing all that I can for this great organization, I will do so in other ways. We’ve had a great run and we can all feel good about the fact that we are ending by raising a record amount and were able to achieve the $750K milestone in total fundraising.”
In total, more than 45 teams participated in both the adult and youth divisions and a total of 8 champions were crowned. Among this year’s participants in the high school division were Miss Maine Basketball 2024, Maddie Fitzpatrick, and several members of the Class AA Boys state champion, Windham Eagles.
As Maine’s second-largest credit union with 40,000 members, Town & Country is a full-service financial institution offering a wide range of financial products and services to people who live, work, go to school, or worship in Cumberland and York Counties. In 2023, Town & Country was named “Best Credit Union in the 207” and “Best Mortgage Lender in the 207,” for the second consecutive year and was also named “Best Credit Union” in the Best of Portland competition. It is also the only Maine credit union to be designated as one of Maine’s “Best Credit Unions” by Forbes in three out of the past six years. The credit union has approximately $590 million in assets and is part of the largest branch network in the country. To learn more, visit http://www.tcfcu.com.
