A Nottingham girl guide has taken the plunge into cold water swimming to raise money for an international trip this summer.
Isabella Clarke, 15, from Arnold has been lake swimming every month of the year since September and is hoping to continue this until raises £700 for the trip to Demark that is being run by Girlguiding Nottingham.
This fundraising has already seen her raise £545 of the £700 goal and has included swimming in December where the water temperature was only 1.5 dgrees celsius.
Speaking about this Isabella said: “I am very excited for the trip with Guides and the cold-water swimming has added an extra challenge to the fundraising.
“I am very excited for the trip with Guides and the cold-water swimming has added an extra challenge to the fundraising.” Isabella Clarke
Isabella is a ranger at a unit in Arnold as well as a young leader who volunteers at a brownie unit in her free time, and Girlguiding Nottinghamshire have selected a small group of members to go on this trip as well as running other international experiences for young leaders, guides and rangers over the age of 13.
The opportunity that Isabella has to go abroad with the charity is all about exploring new places, learning about different parts of the world and meeting new people within the Girlguiding community.
She has been cold water swimming together with her Mum since summer 2021 before Isabella had been chosen for the trip but she continued the sport once she found out she needed a way to fundraise for this trip.
Isalbella said: “I have been swimming for a while with my mum and it has been really fun to go swimming in the cold with her as she is the one who got me into the activity.
“My mum is very proud of me as she has been in Girlguiding for a very long time as well as being one of my guide leaders and she has always wanted me to go on one of these trips.
“She inspired me to do cold water swimming and it has been so much fun doing it alongside her, especially as it is for something both of us are so involved with.”
Isabella hopes to raise money and awareness about the charity as Girlguiding Nottinghamshire are currently looking for more volunteers to help amazing opportunities like this run for its young members.
Cold water swimming is considered an extreme sport so will be a challenge for Isabella as her body deals with the cold weather and even colder water.
If you would like to support Isabella in her fundraiser please donate to her go fund me here
