Maple Frost Plunge participants raise more than $12,000 for Lenawee County organizations

ADRIAN — On what was perhaps the coldest and most frigid day of the week, 12 Adrian-area volunteers were undaunted by the task of jumping into an icy pool of water right in the heart of downtown Adrian Friday evening.

One after one, prominent individuals took the “plunge” in front of several onlookers for the headlining feature of February’s edition of First Fridays, the Maple Frost Plunge.

More photos:Maple Frost Plunge a frigid fundraiser at First Fridays

“Frost” was a perfect way to describe the weather conditions Friday evening. Temperatures hovered in the low- to mid-teens, and with a bit of wind factored into the equation, high temps were downright frigid, measuring a “feels like” temperature in the single digits.

Those 12 volunteers, meanwhile, took the challenge head-on, which came with a positive community impact.

Since the Maple Frost Plunge was announced in mid-January, the volunteers had been fundraising for various charities and organizations. Each fundraiser who generated $500 or more for their organization of choice would take the polar plunge into the pool of water set up by the Adrian Department of Public Works.

Community individuals stepped up over the past several weeks, and the 12 volunteers raised a combined total of more than $12,000. The original goal was set at $5,000, according to First Fridays officials.

Not only will the collective $12,000 benefit such organizations as Autism Grace of Lenawee, the Lenawee Humane Society, HOPE Community Center, City of Refuge Ministries and others, but a portion of the funds will also go toward future events in downtown Adrian.

Maple Frost participants and the beneficiaries of their plunges were:

• Mayor Angie Sword Heath, Autism Grace of Lenawee.

• Adrian Police Chief Vince Emrick, Aawwesome Dance Troop.

• Adrian Parks and Recreation Director Jeremiah Davies, Lenawee Humane Society.

• Adrian Assessor Kristen Brown, Toby's Place Cat Rescue.

• Adrian Police Department administrative assistant Paula Ramirez, Dream Riders 4-H Club.

• Lenawee County Emergency Management Coordinator Craig Tanis, HOPE Community Center.

• Adrian Public Schools Superintendent Nate Parker, Adrian Schools Education Foundation.

• Adrian High School Principal Sam Skeels, students of Adrian High School.

• Culver’s of Adrian owner and DDA/Main Street board member David Thomas, Lenawee County Education Foundation.

• Catherine Cobb Safe House legal advocate Candy Gomez, Catherine Cobb Safe House.

• Greenjak owner Jack Still, Boys & Girls Club of Lenawee.

• City of Refuge Ministries meal assistance program director De'Angelo Boone, City of Refuge Ministries.

The first volunteer to take the plunge was Parker. The final participant who concluded the outdoor portion of “Maple Frost” with a bang was Still.

Another new initiative that was introduced during “Maple Frost” was the Maple Frost Scavenger Hunt. At least 11 downtown businesses participated in the hunt for a Maple Frost miniature statue with gift basket prizes on the line.

Several of the onlookers gathered in downtown Adrian were supporters of each of the participants, who loudly and enthusiastically encouraged their plunging efforts.

“I have a lot of love (from the community) and that’s why we raised a lot for the Boys & Girls Club,” Still said after drying off and warming up from taking his plunge into the pool. “That’s what it was all about, getting awareness for the Boys and Girls Club, making sure people know about what they offer and raising some money, because it takes some money to run that organization.”

The Boys & Girls Club of Lenawee is an important organization in the community, Still said, because of the programming and support available to youth and because his dad coached on Adrian's east side and worked with children and teens.

“You see a lot of great kids that come out of Adrian,” Still said. “We need organizations like the Boys & Girls Club to help foster those future leaders. There are a lot of great kids out there. The Boys & Girls Club has a great staff to help foster those future leaders.”

Davies said it took a few seconds before he was finally able to catch his breath after jumping into the pool of chilly water. He was the third participant in the plunge lineup, jumping after Skeels and before Brown.

“Honestly, I’ve been telling people that my dumb decisions were back in college and that I don’t do those anymore, but this was for a good cause," Davies said. "I’m a big supporter of the (Lenawee) Humane Society and all of the work that they do, so this was something of an opportunity that I could not pass up.

“It took me a few seconds to finally catch my breath, but I did it and I made it. It was all in good fun and for a good cause.”

DPW crew members and other city of Adrian employees were on hand to facilitate the Maple Frost Plunge. A lot of behind-the-scenes work went into to bringing the near half-hour downtown event together, DPW superintendent Eric Kelly said, including adding more than 4,000 gallons of water to the pool.

“I think it’s a great thing for the city. It was some good entertainment,” Kelly said. “Everybody is walking away happy, and hopefully a lot of charities are happy that they raised some good money. Everybody participated, too, from the (police) chief to the mayor to everybody.”

The goal, Kelly said, is to bring back the Maple Frost Plunge fundraiser as an annual event for First Fridays.

“For the first time of doing this, and for how cold it is, we had a great turnout,” he said.

Along with the plunge, downtown businesses had extended hours throughout the evening for First Fridays coupled with live entertainment and specials. Musgrove and Co., 110 W. Maumee St., sponsored First Fridays for February.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: More than $12,000 raised by Adrian's Maple Frost Plunge participants