Dip raises €21,000 for Hope Centre
THE 248 women who bared all for this year’s Wexford Dip in the Nip have certainly made a splash as their move raised €21,000 for the Enniscorthy Hope Cancer Support Centre.
Eileen Rowe and several other organisers recently paid a visit to the centre to hand over a cheque for €20,534.58 and since then, they have received another €500 to add to the pot. This huge donation will be put towards the development of a new transport initiative for cancer patients, which will be available to local service users required to travel nationwide for treatment.
‘It is really going to help people and we are so thrilled that we could help to make that possible,’ said Eileen, who brought the Dip in the Nip event to Wexford for the first time last year. ‘I had never been up to the Hope Centre until the day we presented the money and was quite anxious going at first as my aunt had received treatment there. The place is phenomenal and has such a nice feeling to it. The committee were there and were very appreciative for the donation. I came away thinking, if we could raise the same amount or more next year, they could do so much more of their good work.’
This year’s Dip in the Nip at Rosslare Strand was the biggest of its kind to be organised in Ireland, beating the previous record by 48 people and recruiting twice the number of participants as last year’s event in Wexford. Many took the icy dip in memory of those they had lost to cancer or to mark their own battle with the illness. Others saw it as an opportunity to celebrate an event such as a hen party or birthday or even an upcomign wedding, while many more decided to take part for the fun of it all.
‘It really is a very personal thing,’ said Eileen. ‘People have such a mental block about taking off their clothes and hopping into the sea but it’s an experience you have to witness to see how much fun it is. Every person who did it this year has told me that they will take part again next year.’
Eileen said that next year’s event will also be in aid of the Hope Centre once again.
‘I don’t know how we are going to manage numbers for it next year with more and more people taking part but we will manage,’ said Eileen. ‘We will run it in the same venue as it’s the most suitable and then see what direction the event goes from there.’