What's On

You can still sign up to ‘take the plunge’ in a freezing charity challenge next month

The We Love MCR Charity Valentine's Dip is taking place on Saturday 18 February.

Emily Sergeant - 13th January 2023

Fancy taking a freezing cold dip all in the name of raising funds for a worthy cause in just a few weeks time?

In case you hadn’t heard, last month, one of Manchester‘s most iconic and longest-standing charities, We Love MCR Charity, launched its latest fundraising mission and is gearing up to hearts racing with an exhilarating cold water immersion dip in Sale Water Park near Valentine’s Day next month.

And there’s still time to stick your name down and give it a go.

Daredevils Mancs taking part will be raising funds for the 25-year-old charity’s work supporting ambitious communities and young people across our region.

This isn’t the first time We Love MCR Charity has turned heads and raised eyebrows with its fundraising missions as of late, as over the last 18 months, the charity has hosted a firewalk in St. Peter’s Square, and persuaded 104 brave souls to complete Manchester’s longest-ever abseil off a 22-storey tower block.

Next up in the series of ‘mind-over-matter’ challenges, those brave enough to take part will plunge themselves into the water at Sale Water Park, wearing anything but a wetsuit, and during the time of year when freshwater is at its coldest at around 3°C.

Don’t worry though, you won’t be left alone, as the challenge will be delivered by Jane McCormick of Open Swim UK – who is accredited in cold-water immersion training by world-renowned expert Wim Hof, whose name you may have heard of quite a lot recently thanks to his popularisation of ice water swimming and the benefits it can provide.

Full training in breathwork and controlling the body’s response to cold water will be provided by Jane for all participants at the lake side ahead of the challenge.

While the daring dip will undoubtedly be the main event on the big day – which is sponsored by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, with all event costs covered – there’ll also be entertainment and refreshments will also be available for dippers plus their friends and family who come to cheer them on.

Music will be provided by DJs and Manchester-based artist Ceeow.

A good handful of people have already signed-up to take part in the challenge, and one of those brave individuals is Julie.

“I have found a huge benefit to my mental health since cold water dipping, so the opportunity to do
something I love which benefits me, to then benefit We Love MCR through fundraising, was a no
brainer really,” Julie explained ahead of the challenge next month.

“Plus doing it with others is always a huge thrill and buzz.”

The We Love MCR Charity Valentine’s Dip is taking place on Saturday 18 February.

Read more:

• Here’s what happened when 50 fundraisers walked on fire in St Peter’s Square last night
• Daredevils raise £36,000 for Manchester charity in the city’s biggest abseil ever
• Three northern dads complete 600-mile suicide prevention charity walk

Limited to just 150 places, the event fee is just £10, and dippers are asked to raise a minimum of £150 in sponsorship, so if you fancy it, you can head on over to the We Love MCR Charity website to find more on the event and to learn about the positive work the charity undertakes across Manchester.

You can sign up here.

Featured Image – Sacha T’Sas (via Unsplash)