The Fitz Scholars Fund at Hope Floats Foundation

Honoring the life and legacy of Fitz Alexander Campbell Thomas

** NOTE:  Select Contribute, Contribute with No Gift Option to give a custom gift of any amount **


Fitz Alexander Campbell Thomas was an athletic, smart, kindhearted sixteen-year-old boy whose life tragically ended on June 4, 2020.  While swimming in the Potomac River in Leesburg, Virginia with his friends, Fitz fell underwater and drowned.


The son of a dedicated civil rights activist and pastor, Fitz lived his 16 years witnessing his mother’s devotion to God and her tireless advocacy for social change and racial justice.  He learned early in life, and carried with him, the notion that love and inclusion can truly make a positive difference in the lives of others.            


The Fitz Scholars Fund at Hope Floats will embody these values by:

  • Expanding access for children from disadvantaged families to participate in swim lessons
  • Empowering children to safely enjoy the water
  • Helping to prevent this terrible tragedy from happening to other families across our country

The FITZ FACTS: DID YOU KNOW? 

  • The equivalent of 13 school buses full of children die each year from drowning in the United States, and children from marginalized populations are more at risk.
    • Children from low-income families have a higher risk of drowning (WHO).
    • Black children in the United States drown at rates as much as 5.5 times higher than white children (CDC).
  • The risk of drowning is reduced by 88% for children who participate in formal swim lessons (NIH).

Pastor Michelle & Fitz Thomas

HELP SAVE THE LIVES OF OTHERS!  Your donation will go directly to providing swim lessons for Fitz Scholars.


  •     A Gift of $50 will provide a Fitz Scholar 3 weeks of swim lessons.
  •     A Gift of $100 will provide a Fitz Scholar 6 weeks of swim lessons.
  •     A Gift of $200 will provide a Fitz Scholar a full session of 12 weeks of swim lessons.

Fitz Alexander Campbell Thomas's legacy of love and inclusion will live on through the countless "Fitz Scholars" whose lives will be positively impacted, and ultimately saved, in his name. 

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