From Ice Baths to Impact: How a Personal Challenge Turned into Fundraising

Jade Hendriks
Jun 22
2 min read

I didn’t start the 100-Day Ice Bath Challenge to raise money or make a statement.

In fact, I joined the State of Nirvana Winter100 challenge team mostly to rebuild some consistency, shake off some mental fog, and prove to myself I could follow through on something hard.

Every day since then, I’ve plunged into cold water with the team. Some days it’s been 5°C. Most days I’ve questioned my sanity at least once. But strangely - it's worked. It’s kept me grounded, focused, and (oddly) energised in a time when I usually feel overloaded and stretched thin.

Then something shifted.

A few weeks into the challenge, I came across Daffodil Dip Day — a winter fundraising campaign for the Cancer Council.

It hit me that I could turn this experiment into something more meaningful. If I was already doing something uncomfortable every day, maybe I could use that discomfort to support people going through something far harder.

So, while this challenge didn’t start as a fundraiser - it’s now part of one.

Why Daffodil Day?

Like many of us, cancer has touched my family and the families of many clients and friends. Daffodil Day is about hope, research, and supporting people during some of their toughest moments. It felt right to align my winter reset with a cause that truly matters.