Harpswell residents plunged into the ocean on a frigid February day wearing daisy sunglasses and hats festooned with yellow rubber duckies.
Fifteen members of the Harpswell Open Water Swimmers joined hardy souls from York to Brooklin to raise money and awareness for Finding Our Voices during the nonprofit’s third annual Love Ourselves Cold-Water Dip on Feb. 9.
Other cold-water dipping groups participating in the fundraiser included Dip Down to Rise Up in York; Two Maine Mermaids in South Portland; Wicked Nippy Dippahs, Maine Sea Sisters, and Seren-dip-ities in the Midcoast; and Blue Loons and Stone Cold Dippers, from Blue Hill and Stonington, respectively, who dipped on Deer Isle.
The call to action for the annual event on the Sunday before Valentine’s Day is “get cold to bring warmth to domestic abuse survivors.”
Participants choose the time and place of their dip. They are encouraged to wear yellow, the signature color of Finding Our Voices. The grassroots nonprofit is devoted to supporting survivors and their children, plus educating everyone about the public health emergency of domestic abuse.
According to Finding Our Voices CEO and founder Patrisha McLean, the Love Ourselves dip raised $3,500, with donations coming from as far away as California through friends and family supporting Maine participants.
McLean said every penny of the money raised from the event funds critical items for women to get safe from domestic abuse and rebuild their lives, including shelter, car repairs, gift cards for food, and help with legal bills.
Karen Nazor, of the Harpswell swimming community, said, “We decided with one voice to join the Finding Our Voices fundraiser, as several members had taken part in the event in previous years and all of us support and embrace the mission of their organization.”
Finding Our Voices is a grassroots, survivor-powered nonprofit breaking the silence around domestic abuse in Maine and providing critical resources for women survivors to escape and rebuild their lives. For more information, go to findingourvoices.net.
