Lancaster cancer charity launches chilly new challenge

The charity has launched its new Dare2Dip campaign which is asking supporters to immerse themselves in cold water to raise money.

Organisers will also be taking a mobile cold water therapy pod out and about to events and local businesses across north Lancashire and south Cumbria to enable people to join in the fun wherever they are.

CancerCare head of fundraising & marketing Claire Mason said the challenge aimed to be fully inclusive to enable as many people to take part as possible.

“The challenge is open to everyone and it will be great to see people getting creative with their ideas, whether it’s a brisk bathe in a local lake or shivering in a cold shower," she said.

"We are also keen to get as many local businesses and community groups involved as possible which is why we’ll be taking our portable pod out and about.

"We also look forward to seeing how creative people can be with where and how they do their dip."

Participants will be encouraged to donate £10, do their dip and then post videos of their wet and wacky exploits on social media and nominate their friends or colleagues to join them using the #D2DforCancerCare.

They can also ask people to sponsor their dip to raise money for the charity which provides free professional therapy to people coping with a cancer diagnosis or bereavement.

“We are hoping to create a real sense of community and fun with people sharing their experiences with each other," Claire added.

"There is also a serious side as it costs CancerCare around £1.9m each year to provide much needed support to thousands of local people going through some desperately tough times.

"Our team of fundraisers will be on hand to ensure that anyone wishing to take part has everything they need from sponsorship forms to Facebook pages. We’ll also be giving out some fun awards for most creative dips at the end of the year."

The campaign is being supported by Project Cold, an organisation that runs cold water swimming and therapy events across North Lancashire and beyond.

Project Cold’s “Dip a Day” campaign saw dozens of people take part in open water swimming challenges throughout March which raised more than £5,500 for CancerCare.

Morecambe-based Westgate Tyres are big supporters of CancerCare and invited the charity along with the pod so they could take part on their forecourt.

Sophie Bailey said: "We always like to support CancerCare because we have used their services and they have always been there for us as a family when we needed them the most.

"We have family members at the moment who have cancer and we wanted to give something back. We have always wanted to try a cold water challenge and raising money for a wonderful challenge at the same time is brilliant."

If anyone would like to give it a try, the charity is holding a special open day at its Slynedales Centre in Lancaster on Wednesday July 5 from 4.30-6.30pm to allow people to experience the cold water therapy pod supported by CancerCare staff.

To book a pod session for your event or business, email [email protected]