MEMBERS of the public are being urged to ‘brave the waves’ and take part in a Christmas day charity swim.
Dorset cousins Tommy Baker and John White are calling on swimmers to take part in this year’s Christmas day sea dip for Christchurch Hospice.
The men, from Bournemouth, first staged the festive dip in 2008, along with six friends.
Fourteen years on, the event now attracts hundreds of people and their supporters, many in fancy dress whilst they brave the icy sea close to Boscombe Pier.
Read more: White Christmas Dip at Boscombe Pier on Christmas Day 2022
To date, the Christmas dips have raised more than £250,000 for Macmillan Caring Locally, the charity which supports the Mac Unit in caring for over 1600 terminally ill people and their families each year.
John’s dad had been successfully treated for cancer at the Macmillan Unit hospice in Christchurch, making the charity an easy choice for the pair.
Tommy said supporting the dip is more important than ever in 2022. He said: “The current financial climate is making fundraising by charities like Macmillan Caring Locally even more difficult. And fundraising is what enables the unit to help so many people when they need it the most.
“We were also forced to cancel the dip for the first time in its history in 2020 because of Covid, losing the estimated £50k we would have raised.
“So, this Christmas Day, we are determined to finally shake off the shadow of Covid, get out there with our friends and families, have some fun and raise as much as we can for this amazing hospice.”
Neal Williams, trust secretary of the Macmillan Caring Locally charity, said: “Tommy and John are our absolute heroes.
“The White Christmas Dip is our biggest fundraising event, and without the two of them driving this forward it would not have been the massive success it is.
“We hope people will join them and the many of us from the Mac Unit for this amazing event. It wouldn’t be Christmas without it.”
The dip takes place at 9.45am on Christmas day.
To sign up visit https://whitechristmasdip.co.uk/etn/white-christmas-dip/
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