He may be half a world away, but former Rotorua man Dave Dawson is raising money for the Rotorua Hospice.
Mr Dawson, who lives in the United Kingdom, plans to become the first Kiwi to swim Scotland's bitterly cold Loch Lomond, using the 40km swim as a fundraiser back home.
He chose the hospice after seeing the "amazing work" they did looking after his mother for several days after she suffered a brain aneurism. He has set himself a fundraising target of $5000 on his online fundraising page.
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Mr Dawson said it looked like he'd be swimming on August 12 - his 50th birthday - which would make it a "bit more special".