Ocean of Hope
The largest athletic charity campaign to benefit Sarcoma Alliance, Ocean of Hope, brings together impassioned paddlers, committed volunteers, generous donors, and dedicated corporate sponsors each year. Together, they provide Sarcoma Alliance the necessary resources to deliver services to thousands of sarcoma patients and families. To date, O2H has raised more than $890,000 in support of the Alliance.
The Ocean of Hope began single event in 1999, intertwined with the historic Catalina Classic paddleboard marathon every August between Catalina Island and Manhattan Beach. Years later, O2H is comprised of not only paddleboarders but also outrigger paddlers and stand up paddlers racing in open ocean events throughout the year. O2H is “dedicated to the sea of people affected by cancer”.
Team Members
- Abby Hatch
- Bob Purdy Memorial
- Bob Schade
- Charlie Banfield Jr. Memorial
- Dave Ginsburg
- Julia Jones
- Kristin Thomas
- Lindy Brownsberger
- Loraine Gruber
- Gina Fermil
- Mark Schulein
- Sam Lucas
- Ted Nguyen
- Veronica Wold
- Wade Williford
- Wally Buckingham
- Wayne Buckingham
- Yvonne Chavez
O2H Team Captain, Aimee Spector
People have described Aimee as compassionate, determined, disciplined and focused; she is probably all those things and more! Her biggest and proudest accomplishment has been raising her son, Slade in the South Bay community of Redondo Beach, CA. Currently working full time as a teacher, Aimee has the opportunity to help special education students better their lives through work experience. She has been paddling since 1998 and joined The Ocean of Hope (O2H) in 2003 after meeting Mark Schulein, the O2H team captain until 2009 when he asked Aimee to lead the team. She has worked tirelessly ever since to raise funds and awareness for The Sarcoma Alliance as part of Ocean of Hope. She trains to compete in many athletic disciplines, including running and triathlons, but paddleboarding and outrigger canoe paddling are her true passions. She feels honored to help The Sarcoma Alliance advance it’s mission to improve the lives of sarcoma cancer patients by participating in paddling races and events throughout the U.S. and hopes to inspire the generosity and compassion of others to help the sarcoma cancer community.
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