Girl, 14, to swim Northumberland Strait for charity

Girl, 14, to swim Northumberland Strait for charity

A 14-year-old girl will be among 50 swimmers to take to the waters of the Northumberland Strait, as they raise money to send kids with chronic illnesses to camp.

Cali Bruce and other swimmers will tackle "The Big Swim" across the 14-kilometre stretch of the Northumberland Strait between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island this Sunday.

Each swimmer must raise at least $1,000 — the cost of sending a child to Brigadoon Village. The camp is for children living with chronic illnesses and other special needs.

If Bruce succeeds, she will have been the youngest to make the swim in about 50 years. At the moment, Ralph Brooks of New Brunswick is the youngest person to swim the strait. He did so in 1964, at the age of 14.

But Bruce said she's doing this for her cousin Kevin Laffin, who died of brain cancer at the age of 15.

To date, Bruce has raised more than $5,000, and plans to raise even more before Sunday's swim.