Fundraising for the mayor’s charity
August saw the third fundraising event for Cllr Alexander Chase and the Mayor’s Charity.
The Mayor, along with some very brave and determined swimmers (and a mermaid) challenged themselves with swimming the equivalent distance of the English Channel in our Coast to Coast sponsored swim.
Going for gold
Sixteen swimmers took slots of an hour each, swimming laps of the pools to cover the distance. Swim caps off to our Pool Manager, Harriet, and co-founder of BadCo, Adam, for doubling their efforts and taking a slot on both days.
But it wasn’t just Team BadCo providing the entertainment over the weekend. The rest of the pool was open to the public. Our competition to guess how far Team BadCo would swim proved popular and raised additional funds. The BadCo team brought their coffee trailer bright and early to sell drinks along with English and French refreshments. Celebrity chef Lesley Waters baked homemade scones especially for the occasion and Tesco Shaftesbury donated croissants, cream and jam for the themed refreshments on offer.
By the end of Day 1, ten swimmers had completed their slot, swimming over half the distance from Dover to Calais. Day 2 opened to a typically English grey sky. The swimmers were not deterred and continued on their way to the finish line.
Live music from Mermaid Nerissa and Conor Smith in the afternoon kept everyone’s spirits afloat. A thunderstorm stopped the swim a little earlier than planned but Team BadCo had already completed the distance with time to spare. The Mayor, Cllr Alexander Chase, proudly presented the swimmers with certificates designed especially for the occasion in the closing ceremony.
A team effort
Together, the swimmers, aka Team BadCo, swam an incredible 27.32 miles in 17 hours and 36 minutes. Despite the thunder and lightning, the team smashed their target distance, taking them over six miles further down the coast of France!
Over £1000 was raised for The Brave and Determined Company charity through donations and refreshment sales from the BadCo coffee trailer.
We’ve been blown away by the community spirit and generosity of everyone who donated, helped, or supported the event.
A special thank you goes to:
- Team BadCo swimmers and lane counters
- The lifeguards at Shaftesbury Lido
- Lesley Waters for her freshly baked scones
- Tesco Shaftesbury for their donation of croissants, jam and cream
- Mermaid Nerissa and Conor Smith for entertaining with live music
- The Brave and Determined coffee trailer team
To everyone who donated through Just Giving and on the day – your amazing generosity has put at least four people through early intervention life-saving counselling! Thank you so much.