WESTFIELD — The Westfield Marlins Swim Team will be taking a break from their busy summer schedule over the course of the coming weeks to raise funds for cancer research as part of a nationwide initiative designed to increase awareness and promote community involvement.

“Everyone has known someone — whether it’s themselves, a parent, a friend, a neighbor or a classmate — who has been impacted by cancer,” the team’s longtime coach, Judy Lee, said.

This year, Ms. Lee said, the team will partner with Swim Across America, a 501c3 nonprofit organization that hosts charity swims to fund important research, clinical trials and patient programs.

Swim Across America is an offshoot of an awareness campaign that began in 1984 when cancer survivor Jeff Keith successfully ran across the country with two of his childhood friends after losing one of his legs to the disease. The run, which took eight months to complete and saw the runners travel on foot from Boston to LosAngeles, garnered national attention and kicked off a wider understanding of the importance of cancer research.

After the run, Mr. Keith returned to his home state of Connecticut motivated to help find new ways to treat cancer beyond surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Given the success of his inaugural run, he decided to host another fundraiser and put together a relay team to swim across the Long Island Sound.

That event, which has come to be known as the first iteration of Swim AcrossAmerica, raised $5,000 in charitable donations on August 1, 1987.

Since then, the organization has partnered with swim teams, openwater clubs, community groups and even Olympians in honor of Mr. Keith and his mission to help eradicate the disease once and for all.

“The kids have really leaned into this,” said Ms. Lee, who celebrated her 50th season with the Marlins last year. “They see this as a way to give something back, and the fact that we’re doing this as a team has been a great experience for all of them.”

And while the Marlins will not be hosting an event of their own, given that this is the first year that the club has offered to get involved, the team has rallied behind Coach Lee to raise more than $9,000 to benefit the organization.

“We started with a goal of $5,000, but we surpassed that pretty quickly,” Ms. Lee said. “We’re hoping to close out this month with around $10,000.”

On Friday, July 19, the Marlins will dedicate their weekly Friday Fun Day (a longstanding Westfield tradition that lets the kids take a break from swimming laps to participate in challenges like piggyback pool races and the biggest splash competition) to a Field Day-type event designed to bring the community together and help the team to meet its final goal.

“I’m very glad we decided to do this,” Ms. Lee said. “This is a great organization, and it has been good to see the kids get so involved.”

To contribute to the Marlins’ fundraiser page for Swim Across America, stop by the Westfield Memorial Pool or visit https://shorturl.at/ a4eDT.