CHESAPEAKE CITY – Bohemia Manor student-athletes Gavin and Emersyn Rogers are turning their love of swimming into a mission of service, launching a swim cap fundraiser to benefit the Travis Manion Foundation, a national nonprofit that supports veterans and families of fallen service members.
Gavin, a junior at Bohemia Manor High School, competes in cross country, swimming and track for the Eagles and swims year-round with the Delaware Swim Team. Last season he was named Cecil County Swimmer of the Year and earned First Team All-Conference honors in the pool. Away from school, he serves in the Naval Sea Cadet Corps and is on track to be promoted to chief petty officer.
Gavin has taken part in Travis Manion Foundation events including the 9/11 Heroes Run and the Frozen Frogman Challenge, experiences that inspired him to do more. Combining his passion for the water with an interest in military service, he helped design a swim cap fundraiser to raise money and awareness for the foundation.
His younger sister, Emersyn, a sixth grader at Bohemia Manor Middle School, is matching his effort stroke for stroke. She runs cross country and also swims for the Delaware Swim Team. This year she represented the Middle Atlantic region at the Eastern Regional Championships, winning all 12 of her events and earning high-point honors for the meet.
Emersyn said she was moved by the story behind the Travis Manion Foundation and the way it supports both military families and local communities. With an older brother who hopes to serve in the military, she was drawn to an organization that emphasizes courage, character and commitment.
The Travis Manion Foundation was created after Marine 1st Lt. Travis Manion, a Naval Academy graduate, was killed on April 29, 2007, during his second deployment to Iraq. Manion was fatally wounded while leading a counterattack after his patrol was ambushed in Fallujah; his actions allowed every member of his patrol to survive and earned him the Silver Star and Bronze Star with Valor.
Shortly after his death, his mother, Janet Manion, founded the Travis Manion Foundation in Doylestown, Pa., as a way to honor her son and support veterans and families of the fallen.
The foundation’s guiding ethos comes from Travis’ words before his final deployment: “If not me, then who?” That phrase has grown into a national call to service and character.
Today, the Travis Manion Foundation’s mission is to “empower veterans and families of fallen heroes to develop character in future generations.”
Through programs such as its Character Does Matter youth mentoring initiative, Operation Legacy service projects, leadership development for veterans and service-based trips for surviving family members, the organization brings together veterans, survivors, youth and community volunteers to serve and lead.
The Rogers siblings’ swim cap sale is designed to funnel local support into that broader national effort. Proceeds from the caps will go to the foundation to help fund its character education, community service and mental health and well-being programs for veterans and survivors.
For the Bohemia Manor students, the project is also personal. Gavin’s involvement in the Naval Sea Cadet Corps and his interest in future military service connect directly with the foundation’s focus on service and leadership. Emersyn’s success in age-group swimming, along with her admiration for Gold Star and military families, gives the fundraiser a sense of purpose beyond the pool.
Both hope their efforts will encourage classmates, teammates and community members to learn more about the Travis Manion Foundation and its “If Not Me, Then Who” ethos — and to consider how they can serve in their own schools and neighborhoods.
Information on the Travis Manion Foundation and its programs, including the 9/11 Heroes Run and Character Does Matter, is available at travismanion.org
