Polar Plungers raise $100,000 for 'amazing' Special Olympics Pennsylvania
Feb. 5—HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. — Group after group, they lined up on the edge of a square cut into the ice atop Canoe Creek State Park lake, shivered a bit and then entered the frigid water with a splash.
Some laughed when the jolt of bitter cold went through them.
Some screamed.
Some mumbled almost incoherently with teeth chattering.
But all 250 or so waded quickly to the opposite end, climbed up a ladder to get out of the water and hustled to the warming area.
"Jumping in is not the problem," said Jim Wenner, a Huntingdon resident, who took the plunge while wearing a penguin costume. "It's getting out. The transport from the water up to the shower house is the shock to the body. Getting in is easy."
Together, the participants in the annual Winter Games Polar Plunge raised more than $100,000 for Special Olympics Pennsylvania, which provides an opportunity for youth and adult athletes with disabilities from all across the state, including the Johnstown region, to compete in sports.
"It's peer-to-peer fundraising basically, so a lot of people just go online," Karly Heath, manager of Special Olympics events in western Pennsylvania, said. "They can create a team, join a team or donate as an individual and take the plunge. It gets competitive, and we like that."
Heath added: "The money goes all directly toward Special Olympics and our athletes. It covers their traveling expenses and things like that so they never have to pay a penny."
The event included a deejay, games and bonfires, along with an appearance by Miss Pennsylvania Meghan Sinisi, from Altoona.
"I've just seen all the great benefits for Special Olympics athletes and the way that they can grow in their community in all of their skill sets so that they can be contributing members of society and feel like they have a place in our world," Sinisi said. "It's an amazing program to support."
