You did it, Garden Route!
We called on you to give back by getting down to Vic Bay for the 4thannual dotsure.co.za Polar Bear Plunge in benefit of pets and people in need and, on Saturday July 27th, you amazed us once again.
The day kicked off with a warm welcome by the Managing Director of dotsure.co.za, David Roache, followed by a safety briefing by the NSRI after which the MC, Mickey Louw, called on the dotsure.co.za team to open the Plunge. Kids and adults enjoyed a whole range of fun activities including but not limited to a dunk tank, kids’ corner, brain freeze competitions, tug of war challenges hosted by Virgin Active and even free 10-minute sports massages with compliments of Blom’s Sports Massage! Local charitable organisations sold goodies like beautiful jewellery from Options Care Centre and dog tags plus other cool pet items from ODIN! “We Are Fine” entertained the crowd with an exclusive live show of electric hit songs which turned up the heat even more.
Over 350 Plunge participants came running out of the icy waves beaming, grinning, and laughing. Every stroke and squeal was carefully watched over by the sharp and vigilant eyes of the NSRI Station 23.
It wasn’t just about braving the waves, of course. We challenged you to smash our previous record and donate more than 1,000 blankets. This year, citizens and businesses from George and surrounds donated over 2,000 blankets – more than doubleour original target! The blankets will be distributed for use by animals and people vulnerable to the elements this winter – all with the kind help of Rotary George, Oudtshoorn Dogs in Need (ODIN), Garden Route SPCA, Options Care Centre, George Child and Family Welfare, George Night Shelter, PDSA, Up with Downs and Soft Landings.
Participating businesses plunged for a nominated charity of their choice and the winning team was selected based on three main criteria: the number of blankets collected, public votes and team “gees”. It was a tight race for 1stposition with Stiles dominating the blanket donations with over 500 blankets raised and Custom Decks and Walkways dominating the public votes. dotsure.co.za then decided to double the prize money and award each business with R20,000 in benefit of their selected charities. Those charities being George Night Shelter and ODIN, respectively.
“We’d like to extend a massive thanks to all who came out and supported the event by donating a blanket. Together, we have made a difference to 2,000 lives this winter. A special thanks to local businesses for joining forces with us, and to all of our partners – we could not have done this without you!,” said Roache.
Thank you for turning the tides and for being the change we need!
