Tauranga heroine Dr Bronwyn Copeland is on a mission to swim an astonishing 40.2 km from Tūrangi to Taupō on 24th February to raise money and awareness for the ‘ P Not Once’ campaign. ‘P Not Once’ was launched by local mums and business women Lavina Good and Jessica Wright to fight the methamphetamine epidemic among teenagers.
Methamphetamine addiction in the Bay of Plenty is a real problem. In fact, as many as 30% of locals were reported to be addicted to P last year! ‘P Not Once’ is targeting teenagers and aims to support them to stay strong, confident and to reject the drug if offered it at a party or anywhere else.
Dr Bronwyn Copeland is a mother-of-two and, of course, would never want her kids to get into trouble. A passionate swimmer, she decided to do what she loves the most to raise awareness towards the ‘P Not Once’ campaign.
On 24th February Bronwyn is going to swim from Tūrangi to Taupō. It will take her around 12-14 hours. That is twice as far as the longest swimming competition she’s ever entered before! To make it happen, Bronwyn will have to start at 3am and use glow torches to guide her. Strong wind and 19-degree water temperatures are certainly a big concern as well!
But as she admits, the biggest challenge will be mental. “According to others, you can enter a very ‘dark place’ between the 20-30km mark,’ said Bronwyn to NZ Herald recently. To stay strong and to win this mental fight with herself, Bronwyn has been practicing for the last six months. She swims at least 50kms around The Mount every week!
Swimming across Lake Taupō is only the first step for Dr Bronwyn Copeland as she’s hoping to swim across the Cook strait next year to raise more funds and awareness for ‘P Not Once’.
Keen to support Bronwyn and ‘P Not Once’? Donate by direct debit to 031720002114600. All funds will go towards the charity!
