Too cold to head into the water this time of year? Not for a trio of Vancouver residents as they take on a daily plunge in icy waters to raise funds for an organization that helps residents of the Downtown Eastside.
Abby Hoffman, Conor Sinnamon and Andrew McNamara launched the “Freezebruary” fundraiser on Feb. 1 to support The Dugout, a non-profit that provides free meals and a welcoming space for residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The trio are dipping into freezing waters across beaches in Vancouver and on the North Shore every day for the month of February.
“There’s nothing happening in February, it’s a bit of a boring month, so I just felt like this would be a really great way for us to make a difference,” said Hoffman, who is a teacher at the North Shore Academy of Dancing and a former North Vancouver resident.
As of Monday, the team’s fundraiser has raised $1,894, inching up on the halfway mark of their $5,000 goal.
Every morning on weekdays, the three friends take a cold dip at Kitsilano Beach. On the weekends, they co-ordinate a time that works best for all of them and pick a different location, including a trip to Dundarave Beach in West Vancouver.
The group, who call themselves the “Ice Girls” as a cool nod to the English girl group Spice Girls, decided to pick a local organization to make a bigger impact with their donation. Sinnamon says they hope their donation will help revive The Dugout’s evening program, where they offer movie nights and entertainment for guests, as it had to be cancelled due to underfunding.
“We all live downtown in some capacity, and have just seen the problems with homelessness, so that was something we all felt pretty strongly about,” Sinnamon said. “Especially this time of year, when it’s just so cold and a lot of homeless people have nowhere to go during the day.”
“Those people are us, we are all in the same city,” Hoffman said. “We’re all in the same space, and it’s tough to see them not getting access to what they need.”
Hoffman has been documenting the daily plunges on TikTok to show people their journey and to let folks making donations see that they are following through on the icy bargain. Each video has a different challenge or funny theme to them to keep people interested, she said.
@abbyhoffman01 This was interesting… We’re so stoked to see more and more donations coming in each day! Thank you all for your kindness and support. Swimming every day for all of Feb to raise awareness and raise money for Vancouver people who are in need of a helping hand. Go to thedugout.org for more info 🫶🏻🩵 #freezebruary #coldplunge #vancouver #fundraiser #explore #fyp #dogoodinyourhood #snow #icegirls #vlog #iceicebaby #iceandeasy ♬ Move on Up - Curtis Mayfield
But the fundraiser has also shown them how generous the community has been, and how people want to get involved.
The trio have seen an overwhelming amount of support online and locally. Kits Beach Beer donated two six packs when they found out about the fundraiser, Sinnamon said, adding they'll use the brews as raffle prizes for people who make donations.
Support is also coming in from other parts of the world. Sinnamon and McNamara are both from Ireland, and have seen donations from loved ones there.
“Honestly it just makes me emotional because this is something so removed from life over there, but people still genuinely care, because they see people that they love being so passionate and caring about something,” Hoffman said.
If you’re up for a cold dip, people can send a message on either of their Instagram accounts to find out exact locations and times throughout February. Or people can donate on the group’s GoFundMe page.
On the North Shore, a cold plunge will happen at Dundarave Beach Saturday, Feb. 22 at 11 a.m. Another dip in Lynn Valley Canyon will happen on a yet-to-be-determined date.
“It’s been really fun, to be honest, I look forward to it every day,” McNamara said. “To help someone and somewhere that is so local and is badly needed, it’s really important and it’s been really rewarding for us.”
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
https://bsky.app/profile/abbyluciano.bsky.social
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