A Bikini And Snow Boots For Haiti Outreach

A couple weeks ago I told you guys I was going to jump in a frozen MN lake as part of a charity event for Haiti Outreach. Even though I didn’t meet my personal fundraising goal, my team collectively raised over $8,500 to build a community well in Haiti.

In Haiti, over 5 million people do not have access to clean water. They can’t just walk to the kitchen and pour a glass out of the tap. They must walk to a stream where others wash their clothes and animals bathe to collect water, then carry it back home. The risk of cholera and disease is a fact of life because of dirty water and poor sanitation.

That’s why we donned ridiculous outfits and jumped – with the goal of raising awareness and funds to help bring clean water to the people of Haiti.

Not-so-coincidentally, yesterday was also the 3rd anniversary of the massive earthquake that devastated Haiti, killing over 300,000 people and affecting millions more. The frigid water we jumped into didn’t seem quite as scary with that thought in mind.

The actual jump was freezing and scary and exhilarating and amazing all at once. The shark footie pajamas came off and I braved the cold in a bikini and snow boots waiting for my turn to jump in. Then there was a splash and I stopped thinking as all of the sensations of frozen water and cold and shock took over. I didn’t even try to hit on any of the firemen. Getting out of the water was probably worse than actually jumping in. It was about 14 degrees and windy, and I high-tailed it into the warming house, still a little shocked that I actually did it.

Once I thawed out, though, it was such a rush. I felt amazing and proud of myself for trying something so far out of my comfort zone. This was definitely a bucket list item.

I’m proud of myself that I went through with it, but more importantly, I’m honored to have been part of such an amazing team that worked together to help bring clean water to Haiti.

The overall event raised nearly $15,000 for the Haiti Outreach Community Well Project. You can show your support by making a donation today – 90% of all funds received go directly to programs in Haiti.