Bear Grylls supports sister Lara's ice-swims in #FrostyFeb

Lara, who works in PR, launched her Frosty Feb challenge to raise money for the Archbishop of York Youth Trust, for which she is a trustee.

Lara, 54, from Wetherby, said she and Bear "bonded" over cold swimming and said he supported her throughout the challenge which raised £23,000 in just 28 days by her swimming in freezing water for five minutes, three times per week.

She said: "Bear was hugely supportive over the month. A shared love of ice swimming has been really bonding. My normal job in PR wasn’t quite so exciting to him. He was sending me regular messages of encouragement, gave us lots of shout outs on social media and mentioned my challenge in a few of his recent TV interviews.

"He’s very supportive and he really believes in the Archbishop of York Youth Trust too. Both Bear and I are passionate about supporting youth services; Bear is the Chief Scout and I am a Trustee for The Archbishop of York Youth Trust.

Lara Fawcett preparing for her challenger with, inset, her famous brother, Bear Grylls

"We as a society need to do as much as we can to empower young people from all walks of life, to aim high, be the best they can be and become the next generation of leaders, which we need more than ever before."

For her sterling efforts, Lara is The Press's Charity Champion of the week. If you would like to nominate someone to be our next Charity Champion click here to tell us their story.

Once she had dried off and warmed up, we asked Lara to tell us more about her challenge...

Tell us about the charity and how the money will be spent.

Together the Frosty Feb team have raised over a whopping £23,000 in 28 days! We still have donations coming in and pledges going forward. Skyes House Farm have agreed to donate 20 per cent of all of their sales to the Frosty Feb challenge until Mother’s Day! So that total is growing and growing each day. We’re so pleased to have raised so much for the fantastic work of the Archbishop of York Youth Trust as they empower a generation of young people to transform society. With Covid-19, the UK’s youth services are under serious threat of collapse. Recent National Youth Agency research has found that one in four youth charities are on the brink of collapse, unable to meet their costs beyond March. So fundraising for charities like the Youth Trust is so important now more than ever. It is essential for supporting the future of our children and young people.

February was definitely frosty - how did you manage to endure the challenge every day?

February was a tale of two halves. The first two weeks were brutal with the beast from the Baltic and then the last bit of February got rather mild. At its coldest, the water was one degree Celsius. My body did adapt, a bit like training in the gym, and it did become easier staying in longer. I did have an infrared sauna every morning, which we started renting in the last lockdown and the whole family love it.

Lara Fawcett swims in the River Nidd in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, to raise money for the Archbishop of York Youth Trust Photo: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire.

What was the best bit of the challenge?

Meeting so many interesting people, who I hope will be in my life always! Rev Kate Bottley was great fun and it was a privilege swimming with her. Linking up with Sykes House Farm was a blast and swimming with a garland of sausages. Swimming with a pink unicorn with pink stilettos, swimming with Jonty Warneken from IISA and Jacquie, who does openwaterwoman blog. Seeing Jolie (now 14) grown more and more confident with every swim. Re-linking up with my friend Lou Wilks, who is a mad ice swimmer. Having a one-to-one audience with the Archbishop of York. I also learnt a lot about myself. Am a natural show off among my close friends, but I realised I have now grown in confidence in front of a camera including TV. It was also really empowering to know that I can use my hyperactivity and show off skills for a good purpose such as fundraising. I found my Christian faith was deepened too, as had so many answers to prayer and really felt God was around. I also learnt how important it is with any project to have a strong team and special people came into my life and offered to help for the good of the cause and I couldn’t have done without them.

Bear Grylls' sister, Lara Fawcett is doing a #FrostyFeb fundraiser for the Archbishop of York Youth Trust

And the worst?

Neglecting my friends and family and annoying them because in order for the campaign to be a success I became pretty obsessive. I would wake up in the middle of the night buzzing with ideas on what to do next. Also the admin was huge and alongside trying to run our busy household (with young people working from home) putting my clothes back in the wardrobe at the end of each day fell by the wayside. I am still mopping the mess and neglect from my life that Frosty Feb has left behind.

You had lots of media exposure - which was the most surprising? Which did you enjoy the best?

I thoroughly enjoyed being interviewed live on Sky Breakfast News – that was such good fun! And the amazing Dame Judi Dench gave us a comment of support – it really was fantastic to have her backing for the challenge. It was also really interesting to talk to the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, about the challenge and to hear how passionate he is about giving young people opportunities to thrive. That was great fun. It was the first time I have met him in person too due to Covid, and he said we are bonkers!

Lara with her brother Bear Grylls

What next?

I'd love for Frosty Feb to become an annual February event and in non-Covid times to have thousands of swimmers nationwide. I think if we can raise over £23k in under a month with three days' planning, think what we could achieve with proper planning and corporate sponsorship. Am excited already!

How to donate

There’s still time to donate to the Frosty Feb campaign. Text FROSTYFEB to 70085 to donate £10 (texts cost £10 + your standard network charge) or visit abyyt.com/give to give a different amount.

If you are doing a charity challenge - or know someone who is - then tell us your story! Click here to fill out our online form or visit www.yorkpress.co.uk/charity-champions/