Press Coverage
I welcome all press inquiries - email me, or call 1.815.621.1300.
February 1, 2010: Divinity, the magazine of Duke Divinity School, ran a feature story on my swim and the school building project. The issue was grounded in the theme of "Risk and Renewal." Click here to see the article.
January 6, 2010: Steve Hernan, who runs the website www.openwaterchicago.com, interviewed me about my swim. Click here to hear what I must say is a pretty interesting interview!
November 9, 2009: It is not exactly "press coverage" but this seems like the place to note that November 9, 2009, was "The Rev. Dr. J. Michael Solberg Day" in Rockford, Illinois. The Honorable Larry Morrissey, Mayor, made the proclamation at the City Council meeting that day.
November 3, 2009: WREX - Channel 13 Rockford (NBC) invited me to be on their Noon Show today for an interview.
October 16, 2009: WREX - Channel 13 Rockford (NBC) has a nice follow up story on my swim, (now stored on YouTube) with good coverage of the school project component of this!
September 21, 2009: The Associated Press put out a brief article about my successful swim, which got picked up by dozens, if not hundreds, of newspapers and media outlets nationally and internationally. Far too many to link all of them here! But here's one: USA Today.
September 11, 2009: The Rockford Register-Star keeps updating their website about my patient waiting for the weather.
September 3, 2009: The Rockford Register-Star ran a nice update-and-recap piece: "Pastor Ready for English Channel Swim"
June 7, 2009: The Duke Divinity School Magazine has a fine piece in the current edition. I graduated from Duke Divinity School in 1989 (M.Div.).
May 30, 2009: Local television stations WREX (13) and WIFR (23) both ran very nice stories about our Swimming for Schools Swim-a-Thon. The kids were featured, even getting in their basic message loud and clear: "Help us build a school in Angola!" Here is the WREX piece. The WIFR piece isn't available (at least not yet).
May 14, 2009: The United Church of Christ has added the Angola school building project to their official list of Global Ministries projects. Here is a link to their introduction of the project for the United Church of Christ.
April 6, 2009: There is a nice reference to my swim and school project at www.10kswimmer.com today, an active blog that covers the world of open water swimming.
March 31, 2009: WBBM 780 AM radio in Chicago aired a nice piece by Lisa Fielding. Thanks WBBM!
March 27, 2009: Was named WTVO Channel 17 Rockford (ABC) "Person of the Week" - Thanks!
March 22, 2009: WIFR - Channel 23 Rockford (CBS) also ran a nice piece with swim footage and interview.
March 21, 2009: My English Channel swim and school-building project has been picked up by papers across the country, especially here in Illinois, including the print or on-line editions of:
- The Daily Register (Harrisburg, IL)
- The Southern Illinoisan (Carbondale, IL)
- The Carmi Times (Carmi, IL)
- Norwich Bulletin (Norwalk, CT)
- Benton Evening News (Benton, IL)
- Huntley News (Huntley, IL)
- Concord Journal (Concord, MA)
- Carol Stream Examiner (Carol Stream, IL)
- Olney Daily Mail (Olney, IL)
- Glen Ellyn News (Glen Ellyn, IL)
- Darien Suburban Life (Darien, IL)
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Canton Daily Ledger (Canton, IL)
- Star Courier (Kewanee, IL)
- Medford Transcript (Medford, MA)
- Peoria Times Observer (Peoria, IL)
- Pontiac Daily Leader (Pontiac, IL)
- The Evening Times (Little Falls, NY)
March 20, 2009: WTVO - Channel 17 Rockford (ABC) ran a nice piece with swim footage and interview.
March 20, 2009: And the story is in the March 20, 2009, print edition of the Rockford Register Star as well.
March 19, 2009: The hometown paper picks up the story right away! Nice job Rockford Register Star.
March 19, 2009: Here is the initial news release about my swim.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 19, 2009
Contact: Rev. Dr. J. Michael Solberg - (815) 621-1300
ROCKFORD MINISTER TO SWIM ENGLISH CHANNEL;
RAISE $50,000 TO BUILD SCHOOL IN WAKU KUNGO, ANGOLA, AFRICA
(ROCKFORD, IL)—For most of his life, Mike Solberg, Senior Pastor of Second Congregational United Church of Christ in Rockford, IL, has dreamed of one day swimming across the English Channel from England to France. As a Senior Pastor, he has also developed a second dream: to build a school for the 35,000 children of Waku Kungo in Angola, Africa.
The pastor, avid triathlete, marathoner, and volunteer swim coach will soon see both dreams become a reality as he prepares to swim the English Channel in September. In addition to conquering the Channel, Dr. Solberg is hoping to use the swim to raise at least $50,000 to construct the school in the impoverished nation.
“My hope is to use my English Channel swim to raise the money to build a badly needed school in Waku Kungo, Angola,” said Dr. Solberg. “In America, $50,000 does not sound like a lot for a school, but in Angola, Africa, $50,000 will build a solid, functional four classroom school. This small building would be able to educate as many as 420 students.”
Dr. Solberg is able to pursue this double dream thanks to winning a $45,000 grant from the National Clergy Renewal Program of the Lilly Foundation. This highly competitive grant will fund a three month sabbatical from his pastoral duties, and pay for fees, travel, and related expenses.
Swimming the English Channel
Dr. Solberg—who has participated in numerous endurance events, including several marathons, two Ironman Triathlons and a fifty mile run—will swim the English Channel from Dover, England to Cap Gris Nez, France, a distance of 21.5 miles in the often unpredictable 59 degree water of the Channel. To prepare, Dr. Solberg has been swimming several miles at a time at the YMCA and even trains tethered to the side of his pool at home when temperatures allow. He recently reached a training milestone by swimming non-stop for 16,000 yards (9.09 miles) in four and a half hours. As the weather continues to warm and the ice thaw, he will begin increasing his mileage and swimming in Lake Michigan, San Francisco Bay, and local rivers.
While many have tried, fewer than 1,000 people have ever successfully completed the swim. In addition to the waves, tides and chilly water that can cause hypothermia, swimmers are often stung by the many jellyfish that inhabit the Channel. Due to the century old traditions of Channel swimming, swimmers are not allowed to use a wetsuit, and thus feel the full effects of the Channel.
To swim the English Channel, a person must first demonstrate a reasonable chance of success through a long, cold qualifying swim. The training is intense, building to eight-ten hour swims in cold water to ensure the body is acclimatized to the very cold sea. The skin of the swimmer is plastered with a layer of grease for protection, although not insulation. Food and drink may be passed to the swimmer from the supporting boat, but the swimmer must not touch the boat or any person, or the attempt will not count. At the end of the crossing, the swimmer must leave the water under their own power and step onto French shores to claim success.
"The English Channel swim is one of - if not the – world’s top swims. It is unique in what it offers and what you have to do to overcome it. It's at, or beyond, the limits of a lot of the world’s best. By that definition alone there has to be a large number of failures, otherwise it would not be the challenge it is,” said Michael Oram, Honorable Secretary of the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation.
The School
Angola, Africa was devastated by a 27-year civil war which began in 1975. The country’s basic infrastructure for health, education, and every other institution and system was destroyed. With the end of hostilities in 2002, the people of Angola have begun to rebuild physically and socially. Education of children is critical to Angola’s future, and is the top priority of the social mission work of the Evangelical Congregational Church of Angola (IECA). Working with the IECA, which runs dozens of schools in Angola, Dr. Solberg identified the town of Waku Kungo as the location for the new school. Currently, there are more than 36,000 students (half the population) enrolled in the town’s public schools, but over 5,000 children are not in school due to the lack of classrooms and teacher training.
The proposed school will consist of four classrooms, one office for the school’s director, one teacher’s room, and bathrooms. Each classroom will accommodate thirty-five (35) students for a half-day session, for a total of 280 students in the morning and afternoon combined. With a generator, the school could have evening classes for children and/or adults, adding another 140 students, for a potential student population of 420.
In October, Dr. Solberg will travel to Waku Kungo to officially launch the on-site building project. The plan is to have the school ready for the 2010 school year.
The Donations
To help raise the needed $50,000, Dr. Solberg and a growing, dedicated group of supporters have begun meeting to develop a publicity and fund raising campaign that they hope will generate interest and donations from Rockford, Chicago and beyond. In addition to the www.swimmikeswim.com website, the group is also setting up FaceBook, MySpace and Twitter pages to help spread the word of the project through social media. He also hopes to raise awareness through coverage by local, regional state and national news media.
“I know times are tough here in the United States,” said Dr. Solberg. “However, the extreme poverty and the living conditions in Waku Kungo are beyond anything most of us can imagine. The only way Waku Kungo and the country of Angola will improve is through the education of their children. I have a passion to help make that happen, but I cannot do it alone. Together, we will make Waku Kungo a better place for children.”
Those who want to support Dr. Solberg in his quest to swim the English Channel and raise the $50,000 to build the school in Waku Kungo can make their tax-deductible donations by going to www.SwimMikeSwim.com, or by mailing their donation to Swim Mike Swim c/o Second Congregational United Church of Christ, 318 North Church Street, Rockford, IL 61101.
For more information, contact Dr. Solberg at (815) 621-1300, or email him.
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