We are delighted to be supporting Chill Dorset as our charity of the year in 2026. This will be the third year we have supported this fantastic charity, which runs courses just a few minutes from the clinic on Avon Beach.
Chill is a local Dorset-based charity providing sea swimming courses for people over 18 with any long-term mental or physical health conditions, including anxiety, depression and cancer. The Chill team offer structured and supportive gentle courses to introduce people to the wonderful therapeutic benefits of spending time in the sea. You can find out more about the charity and its incredible team of Chill volunteers at https://chilluk.org/hubs/england/dorset/chill-dorset/.
Last year, we held a Charity Beach Pilates & Swim event at Avon Beach, which raised a fantastic £750. Louise O’Connell, co-founder and Pilates teacher at Bridge Health & Wellbeing, led a pilates class on the beach, which was followed by a sea dip led by Jo Cox, lead volunteer at Chill Dorset. The class was completely free and open to all abilities.
All donations on the day and via the Just Giving page went to Chill Dorset. The team were hoping to raise £750, which would enable eight people to attend the course fully funded. The total raised was over £760!
We are hoping to repeat the event this summer, so keep an eye on our Facebook page and newsletter for the date announcement. We will also have a collection box in reception again this year and hold other fundraising activities, including our Christmas raffle.
Thank you to each and every one of you who has donated to the charity already over the past two years. We know it really makes a difference to local people, which is why we are so keen to continue our support this year.
