Maine dipping groups will get cold to bring light to domestic abuse survivors in a Sunday, Feb. 11 fundraising event for Finding Our Voices. The dips will take place in waterways all across Maine and throughout the day, with participating groups choosing their own place as well as time. Details can be found on the Finding Our Voices website at https://findingourvoices.net/cold-water-dip.
Patrisha McLean, CEO and founder of the grassroots and survivor-powered nonprofit said she likes how cold-water dipping is like escaping domestic violence in that “it takes courage, is best not done alone, and feels really good to be out.”
Already signed up to wear yellow and dip for Finding Our Voices on the Sunday before Valentine’s Day are groups including Saltwater Mountain Company in York, Two Maine Mermaids and Cold Water Queers joining forces in South Portland, Wicked Nippy Dippahs in Rockport, Salty Sisters in Vinalhaven, Cold Tits Warm Hearts on Mount Desert Island, and Snow Moon Selkies in Brooklin. WanderWomen Tours is hosting a lake dip in Union for their Maine alumni that includes time in a Finnish sauna.
Dipping groups are welcome to join the event by contacting Finding Our Voices at hello@findingourvoices or through their website https://findingourvoices.net.
McLean, said, “The main thing is not to do it alone because that is not safe, and also a big part of the experience, as Alison Thibault of Vinalhaven’s Salty Sisters says, is “hanging out with some amazing women.” She added, “You can stay dry and still join in by taking photos, holding open a towel, or bringing hot drinks and snacks. I love how Cold Water Queers calls these folks the ‘Land Sharks.’”
Participating dipping groups are encouraged to design their own fundraising campaigns for Finding Our Voices, with proceeds going to the Get Out Stay Out fund. According to McLean, in 2023 this fund disbursed $88,000 to 168 Maine women domestic abuse survivors for shelter, car, legal, home security, and food costs to get safe and keep their children safe as well.
Participants of the Feb. 11 event are encouraged to wear yellow at the dip and post a photo or video to social media using the hashtag #ColdWaterDipFOV. According to McLean yellow is the color of Finding Our Voices because “we are survivors who have managed to cross over to the bright side of freedom and we are shining a light for our sisters who are still trapped.”
Amy Hopkins, owner of Saltwater Mountain Co. and a self-described “ambassador for self-care, re-inventor of self, and avid chill-seeker” chose 10 a.m. at York Harbor Beach for her group’s Feb. 11 dip. “Our purpose,” she said, “is steeped in showing up, dipping down, and rising up with and for all women. We believe finding our voices both literally and figuratively is one of the cold water’s most precious and sacred gifts.”
Finn/Alana is the founder of Cold Water Queers and Sierra is the social media and communications manager. Their group is joining Two Maine Mermaids for their Finding Our Voices dip, 11 a.m. at Willard Beach in South Portland. “Our partnership with Finding Our Voices,” they said, “provides a space for us to come together to heal in nature, to amplify our mission of fostering queer joy and community, and to expand Finding Our Voices’ mission to bring awareness to abuse in any relationship regardless of orientation, identity, or relationship style.”
McLean said, “I have been bowled over by the enthusiasm of leaders of dipping groups around the state for our event, and also their creativity in how they are bringing in the yellow. Amy Hopkins just shared a yellow rose headband that members of her group are planning to wear. We are also getting supportive messages from survivors of domestic abuse. ‘February,’ one woman just wrote to me, ‘will mark the one-year anniversary of surviving domestic assault. This dip is sort of a big deal for me. Thank you for organizing it.’”
Finding Our Voices is the survivor-led nonprofit breaking the silence of domestic abuse across Maine. In addition to its groundbreaking educational campaigns of posters, bookmarks, and touring Survivor-Speaks panel discussions, they provides financial assistance, online support groups, free healing experiences, and through its Finding Our Smiles program, free, dignified, and gold-standard dental care. Gathering and amplifying survivor voices, they also build community and advocate for more rights, services, money for domestic abuse women and child victims. For more information visit https://findingourvoices.net.
