The women jumping off Salisbury wharf. Photo / Emma Houpt
The sun is rising as a group of women hover nervously at the water's edge in Pilot Bay.
It's the last day of August and they are just seconds from completing their final swim of winter.
The group of five mums have been meeting at 5am three times a week to run up Mauao, taking an icy dip in the dark straight afterwards.
They try to stay in the water for about three minutes each time.
While they admit it has been "very therapeutic", the motivating factor to stick at it has been raising funds for a national charity providing counselling sessions for grieving children.
So far the team have raised $4274 for children in the Bay of Plenty.
Kenzie's Gift focuses on improving mental health of children and young people affected by serious illness, cancer or grief within the family. It has 18 registered therapists around Aotearoa.
Last year it funded 398 therapy sessions for children across the country and delivered 1095 grief resource kits.
Team member Josie Calcott told the Bay of Plenty Times that the women knew siblings who had lost a parent due to serious illness and received counselling support through the charity.
It was a motivating factor to get behind the cause, she said.
"We are keen for more money, anything to help them out. It's hit home and it's all around us," she said.
"This is an ongoing thing and it's never going to go away. Even though our challenge has stopped Kenzie's Gift will always need funds.
"These children need support and they need to be given tools to be able to cope through the difficult times."
Despite the challenge coming to an end, the group planned to continue their early-morning endeavours because it was a "great way to start the day", she said.
Jackie Webb, who was one of three in the running group who taught at ACG Tauranga, described the feeling of early-morning swimming as "magic".
"We had already started doing it in the summer - going in the water after our runs. For us this was an incentive to get all the way through the winter.
"You do something for somebody else but the greatest benefit is for you. Now we will just keep going.
"We have got so much out of it. It's pure joy," she said.
Amanda Houghton, who also taught at the school, said being surrounded by children every day reinforced the importance of access to mental health support.
"We interact with kids on a daily basis but we don't have the expertise to support them when they are going through tragedy. We recognise it's really important they receive that support - the charity is all about raising money so they can access that."
Another runner in the group, Leana Buxton, described the activity as "very therapeutic".
"You think 'I can't believe I have missed out on this for so long'. Now it's a thing I can't imagine not doing."
Kenzie's Gift founder Nic Russell said she was "so humbled and inspired by the amazing women" who committed to swimming throughout winter.
"Their fantastic fundraising will go toward supporting the mental health of young Kiwis and their whānau within the Bay of Plenty who are affected by serious illness or grief. ..
"Either one-on-one therapy with our registered child and adolescent psychotherapist or provision of our resource kits."
Those who want to donate to the cause can visit this page.