They’re making a splash for a great cause.
Swim Across America, which has raised $14 million in Nassau and Suffolk counties since 2001, makes its annual return to the North Shore this weekend, as a few hundred locals will plunge into the water to raise money for Long Island-area cancer research.
This year’s event will see well-prepared islanders dive into the LI Sound on Saturday with half-mile, 1-mile, 2-mile and 5K distances at Prybil Beach in Glen Cove.
Swim for America will continue Sunday in the waters of Cold Spring Harbor for a 10K (6.2 miles) swim.
“We’ve swam almost 8,000 yards to get ready for this a few weeks ago,” 69-year-old Steve Chestler of Woodbury told The Post of Sunday’s big one.
“We’ve probably been training for this for at least 10 weeks … two or three times a week, everybody was getting over 5,000 yards.”
Chestler, who has individually raised more than $110,000, proudly represents the nearly 100-person strong Team Carolyn, named for his late wife, whom he lost to adenocarcinoma in 2021.
“My kids and I thought that would be the right thing to do,” Chestler said of his wife, who loved the water and even swam the English Channel.
“It brings everybody together with a common enemy in cancer. Everybody rallies to do their best,” the team captain added.
Recruiting donations and financial pledges for miles to be swum also came shockingly easy for teammates, according to Chestler.
“We had a lot of people in there that was so worried about raising the amount of money. … They called me up and said, ‘Steve. I can’t believe I did it so easily.’ ”
Team Carolyn alone has raised $215,583 so far — 86 percent of its goal.
“Everybody is definitely affected by this horrific disease — and we want to try and cure it,” Chestler said.
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