TTG’s self-styled “freezer geezers” took an icy plunge at the weekend to raise vital funds for TTG Media’s 2019/20 charity partner, national homelessness charity Crisis.
Sporting festive morph suits, the team – senior features reporter Andrew Doherty; marketing manager Dan Heath; sponsorship sales manager James Francis; and deputy news editor James Chapple – threw themselves into water of barely 6C at London’s Brockwell Lido on Saturday (14 December) during the Crisis Icebreaker challenge, before completing a width.
Together, they raised just shy of £450, plus another £70 in gift aid on top of a £28.87pp registration fee; each £28.87 raised is enough to reserve a place for someone who is homeless at a Crisis Christmas centre this winter, providing them with warmth, hot food, and advice and support on health and wellbeing services.
“It was with some trepidation we pulled on our frankly ridiculous costumes and then padded out to the pool to face our ordeal,” said the team. “And it truly did chill us all to the bone.
“However, it was only when we got out that we truly savoured those most basic of privileges – a towel, a warm shower and a hot drink – that we take for granted.
“Working in central London, every day we’re confronted, and troubled, by the homelessness epidemic that has swept across the country in recent years.
“We recognise our efforts here at TTG go only a small way towards addressing the issue, and would urge anyone who can help make a difference by supporting a charity like Crisis to do so this Christmas.”
Anyone wishing to donate should visit: justgiving.com/fundraising/ttgfreezergeezers