If you think the last few months have BIN cold, spare a thought for Bradford brothers Matthew, Andrew and Jonathan who took a dip in a wheelie bin full of ice-cold water throughout the month of January! 
After his daughter Lauren had open heart surgery 10 years ago, heart dad Matthew started this challenge to mark the anniversary and to say thank you for the support and care they received at Leeds the decade before.
Matthew said:
“My youngest daughter Lauren had open heart surgery just over 10 years ago at LGI, in the first few days of her life. The support given at that time, and subsequently, will never be forgotten by myself, my family or our wider support group. I have always wanted to contribute to Children’s Heart Surgery Fund and say “thank you” in some way for everything that was done for us. Sorry it has taken 10 years!
“To fundraise for CHSF we did a January “Wheelie Bin Cold Dip Challenge”. This involved us dipping into garden wheelie bins each day that were filled with cold water – it was January, so this water was icy cold!
“We started at two minutes and increased the time by 15 seconds each day. By the end of the challenge on 31st January we were sitting in the wheelie bin for near 10 minutes. At no point did we add hot water and the only warmth we had was that we wore a new or different piece of head gear every day.
“The challenge was great and stirred up all types of different emotions for me, and those around me. But most of all I just have an overriding feeling of gratitude towards those who contributed and supported the challenge.
“Our family benefitted from the CHSF parent accommodation throughout Lauren’s time in hospital. This was a huge support at the time and took away the stress of travelling back and forth, from hospital to home, while Lauren was being treated.
“We know that the funds raised from this challenge will mean more families can be supported by CHSF, just like we were 10 years ago.
“I would like to specifically thank my ‘Bradford Bin Dipping Brothers’, Andrew and Jonathan Greenwood. ‘The Bradford Birds in Bins’ who are my other half, Jenny Cowen, Andrew’s wife Sarah Greenwood and Jonathan’s wife Alexandra Greenwood – also, to my two daughters Abby and Lauren.
“A huge thank you goes to our wider family and support group that has wrapped their arms around this crazy challenge and catapulted us up to a fantastic amount raised!
CHSF’s Community & Events Fundraiser, Lauren Procter said:
“We loved how unique Matthew’s idea was with his January fundraising challenge. So different, and most definitely challenging (!) in the cold January weather. We loved following Matthew’s journey on LinkedIn, and it was great to see how his family chose to join in too. Thank you to everyone who took part with Matthew and of course thank you to everyone who donated.”
Lisa Williams, Head of Fundraising added:
“When I first saw Matthew’s challenge, I thought wow…what a brave thing to do! Matthew and his family came together as a team, and they posted videos on a daily basis of their dips to raise further awareness and funds for CHSF. Their challenge even caught the attention of ITV Calendar, who featured on of the dips live on the programme.
“I looked forward to seeing the videos every day! To see the whole team giving 100% to this challenge was truly inspirational. They braved ice-cold temperatures every day and continued to share their JustGiving link, engaging their community of family, friends, and colleagues.”
Together Matthew and his family raised an incredible £7,570 for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund!
Team CHSF are so proud of what they have achieved and extremely grateful for their support. Thank you all for going above and beyond in your challenge.
Feeling inspired? Check out our Get Involved page to see how you can start fundraising for CHSF.
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