Cold for a cause: Polar Plunge raises funds for Special Olympics Indiana
A number of Bloomington residents who have nothing more seasonally sensible to do showed up at Indiana University's Memorial Stadium Saturday morning to jump in a tank of cold water.
As participants in the 25th year of “Polar Plunge,” an annual fundraiser for Special Olympics Indiana, each local plunger raised at least $99 in contributions for the charity that serves children and adults throughout the state with intellectual disabilities.
“Jumping into freezing water in the middle of winter may seem crazy,” the sponsors wrote in a news release. “But for the past 25 years, thousands of people have braved the elements to support Special Olympics Indiana during the annual Polar Plunge.”
Plungers jumped into a portable pool at Memorial Stadium that was delivered and filled with water early that morning by the Bloomington Fire Department.
And it was chilly: City of Bloomington water currently runs about 39 degrees, and the high temperature on Saturday was in the mid-30s.
“More than 3,000 individuals take the plunge in a typical year,” according to the sponsor. “To date, the Polar Plunge has generated more than $11 million for Special Olympics Indiana.”
The sponsor is a nonprofit organization that’s part of “the global Special Olympics movement, created by the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation for the benefit of people with intellectual disabilities,” according to the news release.
“Its vision is an inclusive world, driven by the power of sport, through which people with intellectual disabilities can live active, healthy, and fulfilling lives.”
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Polar plunge fundraiser for Special Olympics Indiana features icy dip
