As we continue honoring Hispanic Heritage Month, our Someone 2 Know highlights a local Latina. She arrived to the U.S. from Ecuador as a teenager, and is now a wife, mom and a humanitarian.
For the past year and a half, Haydee (pronounced eye-DAY) Acebo has been training for a swim across Lake Tahoe; 21 miles for 21 social causes. On August 7th that solo swim had to be canceled because of hazardous air from the wildfires.
She admits it was a crushing turn of events - and says she's not giving up.
Whether she's lap training in her endless pool, taking a break to play with her kids, or sharing a meal with her family, Haydee leads with heart. "My whole life has been about making sure people are special and they feel special,” she shares as her eyes fill with tears.
You can hear the emotion in Acebo's voice because she came to this mindset by way of two very impactful events in her life.
"My dad was in the Army, but he was also a surgeon and he was the director of the hospital. A flying doctor's foundation came to Ecuador and connected with my dad. My dad helped them out and then that's how we got the opportunity to come over here.”
Acebo says to this day, her parents are deeply humanitarian.
It was another event, still painful to recall, that would also change Haydee forever.
"I - I was sexually abused when I was a kid.”
As an adult, Haydee says she's learned to channel her sadness and pain into something positive. "It's always been about helping others, because it helps me heal.”
And since she had tackled some impressive swims in the past (like Alcatraz & Donner Lake), she was inspired to propel herself to the 21 south-to-north miles of Lake Tahoe. She says she knew it had to be bigger than herself.
"What if I dedicate each mile to a social cause? So, I went on social media and I asked people, help me choose 21 causes close to your heart.”
Among the list; poverty and homelessness, domestic abuse, COVID-19 - and mental health; something Acebo came face to face with - "I wanted to leave all the pain on the lake - just leave it there.”
The swim was canceled due to smoke-filled hazardous air this summer. Haydee has hoped it would be her last endurance swim, ever. “And God was like, 'Girl, you are not done yet,” she laughs, “You have so much more to do for others'“.
So, the goal remains firmly in place and Haydee continues training for the 21-mile lake Tahoe swim.
"If 2022 is my year to swim, I will accept it. If it's not, we will continue the journey."
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Haydee did raise money for the first swim and all donations are being given to the selected charities.
She is beginning a new fundraiser for the next swim and 21 social causes. For more details, see these links –
