For the fourth straight year Beth Kerr, a 1983 Cooperstown graduate currently living in Exeter, N.H., will be organizing a "swim-a-thon on Otsego Lake to help raise money for cancer research and awareness of art therapy programs.

But this year's swim, scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 19, will be a little different. Rather than swimming the nine miles of the length of the lake, Kerr and others will be swimming the three miles across the lake.

"This should help get more people involved and is also a concession by me to age," said Kerr with a laugh. "It took me a while to recover last year."

The Glimmerglass Foundation, established by Kerr, is the sponsor of the annual "Swim for the Healing Arts." Swimmers will cross the lake between Fairy Springs Park and the Leatherstocking Country Club to raise money for Healing Arts programs that serve people facing cancer.

"Interested swimmers can still register," Kerr said from her Exeter, N.H. office. "We would love to have 20 swimmers with us as we cross on Saturday morning. Registration is $50 per swimmer, a support boat will be provided, and each swimmer will receive a t-shirt with an original piece of art created by a New Hampshire program participant."

Swimmers can also get sponsors as a way of raising money, Kerr said. To register email swim@glimmerglassgroup.com.

Starting in 2003, the Glimmerglass Foundation has sponsored long distance swims and swim-a-thons to raise awareness of the value of therapeutic art programs that serve people undergoing treatment for cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. The 2005 swim of the lake occurred amid choppy waters, which did not hold back recent CCS graduate Melanie Garcia, who swam the entire length for her second consecutive year in just over four hours.

Kerr is founder of Glimmerglass Consulting Group (GCC) in Exeter, N.H. Glimmerglass Consulting Group received the New Hampshire Business of the Year 2006 award in the business services category.

"The success of the Glimmerglass Foundation Swims of 2003, 2004 and 2005, which raised over $10,000, contributed to the recognition we received in the "New Hampshire Business Magazine contest," she said.

Kerr said that the community service focus of the Glimmerglass Foundation provides an important compass for the leadership development work of the consulting practice.

The Healing Arts Program that this swim is supporting helps to sustain the positive healing attitude people need when dealing with cancer by tapping into their creativity and nurturing the positive spirit that medical research has proven to be a major factor contributing to recovery and health.

The Cooperstown Art Association offers Healing Arts programs twice a year. The group is lead by Mary Nolan, an art therapist. In Exeter, N.H., the Healing Art program is offered through the oncology department of the Exeter Hospital. "I was recently contacted by a cancer survivor who would like the Glimmerglass Foundation to help her establish a Healing Arts program in York, Maine. I am pursuing that lead, and hope that next year we will be reporting that we are now in three communities. Our tag line is 'A Ripple in the water - our commitment is to have good energy spread from our swim efforts," Kerr shared.

Art therapy is proving to be a powerful healing therapy for persons with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Participants are able to work through difficult issues, concerns and fears as they discover and deal with the emotions that come up when facing the realities of their disease. The donations from the Glimmerglass Foundation underwrites the programs and allow participants to tap into the important support of gathering with others to express the range of emotions that each is experiencing.

Kerr said her dream is to see a Healing Arts program in every hospital in the country that desires to have one.

To make donations to support this swim and the Healing Arts Support Group contact the Glimmerglass Foundation at 603-772-5697. Proceeds from the fund raising swim event will be allocated to established Healing Arts program at in Cooperstown and Exeter, N.H.

"It has been wonderful to receive emails and calls from people in Cooperstown who are interested in taking on the lake swim challenge," said Kerr. Kerr added that the spirit of the event remains a celebration and a tribute to the strength of people affected by cancer.

Amy Litterini, cancer wellness coordinator for Exeter Hospital in New Hampshire, said the art therapy programs are significant in their focus on treating the whole person, the social and psychological as well as the physical.

"Cure is always our goal," she said. "The art programs are tremendously beneficial to patients, as well as to their families. For the patients it is a release, a way to look at and accept feelings. Patients are able to express themselves and to connect with other survivors.