Mainers brave Feb. 9 storm for cold water dip benefitting domestic abuse survivors
Nicole Larrabee in yellow bathing suit is a Finding Our Voices board member, and Mary Kamradt right behind her is the nonprofit’s chief of staff. They were two of dozens wading into frigid water at Rockport Harbor with Wicked Nippy Dippahs. (Photo by Jane Kurko)
Erja Lipponen’s Wander Women at Crawford Lake in Union with ice chisels, axes and saws, after a sauna. Back row left to right: Kerry Hadley, Amanda Beal, Miska Järvinen. Front Row: Mary Gordon, Autumn Cipala, Sarah Swajkos, Carla Armbuster, Amy Fisher. (Photo by Erja Lipponen)
Snow Moon Selkies’ 9 a.m. dip at Naskeag Point in Brooklin was the height of Sunday’s storm. Sarah Havener on the left by Monday had raised $1,600 for Finding Our Voices. (Photo by Michael Percy)
Cold Tits Warm Hearts spent two hours carving out a heart from foot-thick ice on Mount Desert before dipping in the frigid water as a way to show love for Maine’s domestic abuse victims/survifors in the second annual Statewide Finding Our Voices Fundraising Dip. (Photo courtesy Liz Cutler)
Dip Down Rise Up with Saltwater Mountain Co. at York Harbor Beach at 4:30 p.m. The yellow flower hats were repurposed from the group’s 2024 Finding Our Voices dip. (Photo courtesy Amy Hopkins)
Nicole Larrabee in yellow bathing suit is a Finding Our Voices board member, and Mary Kamradt right behind her is the nonprofit’s chief of staff. They were two of dozens wading into frigid water at Rockport Harbor with Wicked Nippy Dippahs. (Photo by Jane Kurko)
Erja Lipponen’s Wander Women at Crawford Lake in Union with ice chisels, axes and saws, after a sauna. Back row left to right: Kerry Hadley, Amanda Beal, Miska Järvinen. Front Row: Mary Gordon, Autumn Cipala, Sarah Swajkos, Carla Armbuster, Amy Fisher. (Photo by Erja Lipponen)
Snow Moon Selkies’ 9 a.m. dip at Naskeag Point in Brooklin was the height of Sunday’s storm. Sarah Havener on the left by Monday had raised $1,600 for Finding Our Voices. (Photo by Michael Percy)
Cold Tits Warm Hearts spent two hours carving out a heart from foot-thick ice on Mount Desert before dipping in the frigid water as a way to show love for Maine’s domestic abuse victims/survifors in the second annual Statewide Finding Our Voices Fundraising Dip. (Photo courtesy Liz Cutler)
Dip Down Rise Up with Saltwater Mountain Co. at York Harbor Beach at 4:30 p.m. The yellow flower hats were repurposed from the group’s 2024 Finding Our Voices dip. (Photo courtesy Amy Hopkins)
Cold Water Dipping groups gathered at frozen ponds and chilly beaches from Brooklin to York to support Maine domestic abuse victims on February 9.
The Statewide “Love Ourselves” dipping event is a fundraiser for Finding Our Voices, the Statewide grassroots nonprofit breaking the silence of domestic abuse and providing resources to its sister survivors, according to a news release. The group’s color is yellow for the light it brings to Maine women victims/survivors and Sunday's dippers carried out the theme with yellow flower hats, feather boas, bathing suits and caps, and sunglasses.
The date of the second annual event is set on the Sunday before Valentine’s Day, but for another reason as well.
“It is Super Bowl Sunday, when violence to women in the home traditionally spikes," said Patrisha McLean, CEO and founder of Finding Our Voices.
Participating groups choose their own time of the day for their dip, and also their own way to raise money for Finding Our Voices.
Hundreds of women (plus some children, and male supporters) braved Sunday’s snowstorm to raise money for critical items empowering Maine women to get out and stay out of dangerous intimate partner situations. These include emergency short-term shelter, car repairs, legal help, home security systems, and payment of overdue utility and storage unit bills.
At Long Pond on Mount Desert, Cold Tits Warm Hearts dipped in a huge heart painstakingly dug out of foot-thick ice. At Crawford Lake in Union, Erja Lipponen’s Wander Women partook of a sauna before dipping in the hole they carved with ice chisels, axes, and saws.
In Brooklin the winds were whipping at the 9 a.m. time set by Cold Moon Selkies, but hot chocolate was on hand for those who managed to access Naskeag Point through the piles of snow. The dippers with Saltwater Mountain Company in York wore yellow flower hats with their dry robes and gloves, and warmed up with a fire on the beach.
Other participating dipping groups included Wicked Nippy Dippahs and Flock of Seagals at Rockport Harbor, Maine Sea Sisters at Lincolnville Beach, Blue Loons in Blue Hill and Stone Cold Dippers in Stonington.
On Monday, donations were still coming in, with $1,600 raised from the Brooklin Dip alone through Sarah Havener’s GoFundMe page.
Finding Our Voices is the grassroots non-profit connecting Maine women survivors of domestic abuse and providing resources including an online support group, financial assistance and access to free dental care.
