Polar Plunge participants are set to make a splash at Lake Raleigh on Centennial Campus next month in an effort to raise money for Special Olympics.
Polar Plunge, a fundraiser in which participants make a donation to jump into icy waters, first kicked off in 2006 when representatives from Special Olympics proposed it as fun way to raise money for the rapidly growing organization.
Steve Carlton, crime prevention officer with Campus Police and organizer of the event, said the event has something for everyone.
“The Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics was the largest grassroots fundraiser in the world. We have a lot of food, people come in costumes, and we’ll have different things set up. Sometimes we’ll have face painting, sometimes we’ll have raffles and giveaways,” Carlton said. “That’s kind of the environment we create at Lake Raleigh.”
Carlton said they expect a large number of participants, since there is generally a substantial annual turnout of both plungers and spectators.
“We usually get around 75 people that plunge,” Carlton said. “We get a lot more people that are spectators, family and friends. Since we have the 5k as part of that same event, a lot of people that participate in the 5k will come down and watch the polar plunge as well.”
According to Carlton, Polar Plunge has raised an increasing amount of money every year since its inaugural year.
“We don’t break down specifically what the polar plunge raises and what the 5 k raises; it’s just all the sponsorships, and participants, and the people that fundraise,” said Carlton. “And it’s gone up every year since it first started.”
Carlton said about $5,000 was raised during the first Polar Plunge, though the donations more than doubled in 2007 when the amount increased to $16,000. Last year, Polar Plunge raised almost $45,000.
According to Carlton, the consistent increase in donations and participants is in part due to the cooperation from multiple organizations.
“It’s definitely gotten better and better. We’ve gotten a lot more support from different people around the university, and from people who actually attend Special Olympics that help us plan for the event and get sponsors,” Carlton said. “It’s really a huge effort by a lot of people to make the event successful.”
According to Carlton, what makes Polar Plunge special for him are the participants’ stories.
“Every year, it seems like something different happens. We have a lot of people that always come and plunge. We have this one guy from the library who always comes to the plunge in a polar bear costume. He has face paint and everything. He’s one of the staple people that has always participated in the plunge,” Carlton said. “We have people from different departments all across campus that help with it and they will come in different costumes. We had one who came dressed with an island theme. We have students come out from IRC that come and plunge. One of the award winners in the past worked for the Agromeck, and he came dressed as the Agromeck itself.”
Polar Plunge 2011 will be held on Feb. 26, with registration beginning at 10 a.m. that day. Participants will then begin the plunge at 11 a.m.
“One thing I think needs to be said is how much support we receive from the University as a whole to do this. It’s kind of a marquee event for the university,” Carlton said. “We’re really proud that it has that level of recognition from people in and outside the University.”
