Wildplay’s Naked Bungy Jump Raises Money for Mental Health
By Nikki Korde
November 20, 2023
Wildplay’s Naked Bungy Jump is an annual event that takes place at Nanaimo’s Wildplay Elements Park every March and though that is still four months away, registration starts in January so promotion is ramping up.
Ted Nathanson, Wildplay Nanaimo’s park manager, describes the event as “our premier charitable event that we run annually to support Mental Health Recovery Partners (MHRP), a charity out of Victoria that supports people who struggle with mental health.”
Participants get sponsored per jump and can collect the donations once they bungy jump naked. In order to jump naked, participants are required to raise $200 or more.
Janine Theobald, the chair of MHRP South Island branch in Victoria says, “They (fundraisers) can pay a fee, or crowd source from their community the money to make the jump….There are [also] some prizes fundraisers can win.”
Theobald describes the charity as a “community-based mental health not-for-profit.” She says MHRP provides “one-to-one support for someone who has been through a journey of living with a mental illness or mental health concern, or the family member of an individual who is going through those experiences.”
She says, “We have counselng, we have support groups that go on through the week, both in person and online….We have different kinds of training groups around mental health, depression, wellness recovery action…We do other kinds of workshops, education, advocacy and awareness.”
Theobald says of the fundraiser, “Wildplay has got it really dialled in. The safety protocols are tight. The flow is tight. The team is really communicating with each other to make sure everybody is safe when they’re jumping because it is a big deal.”
She describes the environment with similar enthusiasm: “We have got a warm fire going, some hot dogs for people to cook …and then one after another people come out, strip down, and take the leap.”
Lola Raymond, a fundraiser who participated in Naked Bungy in 2023, says “I saw an advertisement for Wildplay on Instagram that said they were going to do the Naked Bungy, and I thought it was the most terrifying thing. My worst nightmare is to be naked in front of people and jumping off a bridge and so that was it, I convinced myself to do it.”
After the jump she had changed her tune: “I absolutely loved it! I came in, the people were really friendly … everyone was so warm and kind and non-judgemental!”
Theobald ads, “By the time people get up there and are ready to jump, the nakedness is an afterthought.”
If you’re 19 or older and interested in jumping in March, Nathanson advises you register in advance: “We can book up to 80 jumps per day, and over the weekend we have a maximum of 180 slots….We get pretty close to being fully booked every year. We sit at around 150-160 jumps.”
If you want to skip the jump and go to the source, MHRP is always looking for volunteers and has offices in Nanaimo and Campbell River, BC.
