Participant: Lisa Barroca

Personal Statement

Hi folks! I'm excited to be a first time participant in the Ithaca Chill Challenge this year in support of Ithaca Community Recovery. I celebrated 4 years sober from alcohol in September and my sobriety is built on a solid foundation of community (in particular, queer recovery community). I believe deeply in, and have benefitted from, community care and it is my hope to pay it forward in my local community. 

Recovery has become a foundational tenet in my life, the thing that opened the door to so many possibilities and the most necessary of reckonings within myself. I cannot think of a better metaphor for reawakening to the intense, sometimes painful, and incredibly beautiful experiences of being alive and sober than jumping in a cold-as-heck lake. So in an effort to make my ancestors in Finland AND my recovery community proud, I am prepared to be an ice cube for the cause. This one is for all of the New Years Days that I wasn't able to greet with joy.

This fundraise is an experiment in and affirmation of community care, in that this goal is only possible if we do it together bit by bit. There is no amount too small to give and no network too small to share. I feel incredibly grateful and humbled for whatever you choose to contribute. Thank you. 

In solidarity, 

Lisa