By Angelina Ortega
“I feel like it bonds everyone together because it’s a thing everyone can share.”
Despite the freezing Cornish weather, Eleanor has made a huge splash this winter by participating in Cancer Research’s “12 Dips of Christmas Challenge”.
Eleanor Veness, a student at Falmouth University, has signed up to take twelve cold plunges in order to raise money for Cancer Research. The well-known UK charity proposed the challenge to be completed over the month of December, however it can be continued into January. When signing up to be a part of the fundraising, Cancer Research is able to provide you with the tools you need to complete the challenge as well as an online guide on how to participate safely.
“If I’m being completely honest, I saw it on Instagram or an advert. I thought, well we live by the sea. And also, there’s the marathons for Cancer Research, but I don’t think I can run very well. So I thought I might do a dip because they’re never really seen, and it’ll be really fun to do anyways.”
Eleanor, with the help of her friends, has now completed 12 days of cold plunges around Falmouth beaches. “I feel like at the start we were like, oh, we’re going in, but now we just have to do it. We’ve got to go in, which is quite nice. As soon as we got there, we wouldn’t even be on the beach for longer than 10 minutes, if that. We were like, if we stand here too long looking at the water, we’ll get colder.”
Another student, Sam Bell, had already completed his 12 days of cold dipping. “Cold? [scoffing, jokingly] no. No, it was good and it was refreshing to go in each day[…]. It was difficult to find the time at points but we still did it, even if it was at 1:30 in the morning, we still would do it.” Sam was able to raise nearly £200 over the course of his challenge.
With a goal of £150 to raise, Eleanor and her friends have already exceeded their goal, raising £180. With this money, according to Cancer Research, this could fund a trial for one day to test new radiotherapy techniques for treating bile duct cancer. Even as little as £70 can fund a clinical research grant for a day where doctors and nurses can find new ways to beat cancer.
“Its nice to raise money for Christmas because it hits home a bit hard when everyone’s thinking about family and friends and being together. Then if you do have people affected by it or have been, I think it bring it out a bit more. So to do the fundraiser at Christmas, I think it’s quite nice; it’s more of a giving season. Thank you to everyone that’s donated, thank you for responding, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”
Eleanor Veness running into the sea with her friend, Wiktoria Slys and a dog runs past. Taken by Eleanor Veness.
If you would like to see how you can raise money for Cancer Research, check their website for more #information: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/