Chatham-Kent set the bar good and excessive for the 2025 Polar Plunges for Particular Olympics Ontario.
Greater than 150 individuals took the plunge into the chilly water at Sons of Kent Brewing Co. in Chatham on Saturday amid freezing temperatures, elevating greater than $63,000.
Chatham-Kent police Sergeant Jason Herder, who co-organized the occasion once more, mentioned they have been solely about midway to their $50,000 aim with a few week left, however by the point the primary plunger hit the water, they’d already topped that mark.
“Simply counting the money we had previous to the primary physique hitting the water, we have been sitting at I believe it was $57,000,” mentioned Sgt. Herder. “As an organizer watching us go from every week out solely having $25,000 raised to over $60,000 in every week and watching the entire help are available in… it is a very humbling expertise as an organizer.”
The Polar Plunge in Chatham-Kent is the primary in a collection of comparable occasions which are happening throughout Ontario with one other bounce set for January 23 hosted by LaSalle Police.
Sgt. Herder mentioned the organizers are “thrilled” with the ultimate totals they took on this 12 months to kick issues off.
“It is a blessing and a curse being the primary plunge for the province yearly,” mentioned Herder. “It is at all times enjoyable setting the bar good and excessive for the rest of the plunges… and when a smaller city space akin to Chatham-Kent can put collectively $63,000 raised and we’re at all times within the high three or 4 of these fundraisers, it actually speaks volumes to the center of this group and the way everybody rallies collectively to help nice causes akin to Particular Olympics.”
Herder mentioned he is already wanting ahead to subsequent 12 months, including that he might need to rethink his alternative of footwear.
“It was extra of a ‘slip and fall’ by the point I needed to bounce… being the final one in,” mentioned Herder. “My adage of carrying crocs to leap in did not work in addition to I had wished to… the water was nonetheless fairly chilly there on the finish of the day, however it was positively price each second of it.”
Related Polar Plunge occasions are set to happen in Windsor-Essex and London on February 28 with greater than 30 plunges happening throughout Ontario altogether.
You possibly can click on right here to discover a listing of the opposite occasions that might be happening.
