Students take the plunge for charity
Alison Brooks
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: Life
Five Mount students plunged into charity work last Saturday, raising over $600 for the Special Olympics Maryland.
Juniors Adam Kauffman, Kate Zuraitis and Christine Holmburg, senior Christine Sotaski and freshman Brandon White plunged into the Chesapeake Bay as a part of the 12th annual Polar Bear Plunge, hosted by the Maryland State Police.
"Just for the fun of making a great charity event, we all run into the frigid Chesapeake Bay," Kauffman said.
An estimated 10,000 people gathered at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis to complete the plunge on Saturday. There were also an estimated 15,000 spectators. With each participant raising a minimum of $50, donations exceeded $3 million.
Mount students raised over $600, and they joined a team of alumni that raised over $28,000.
"This was the alumni team's first year plunging; we are currently hoping to join together next year to make one big Mount team," Kauffman said.
With two plunges scheduled to take place on Saturday, one at noon and one at 3 p.m., this was the first year with multiple plunges. Organizers also added an impromptu plunge at 1 p.m. because of the amount of people that showed up for registration.
Kauffman organized the group of Mount students who participated. This is the second year that the Mount has been involved in the plunge.
"I tried organizing this by setting up a Facebook event and having a mass email sent out. Mike Sorrentino wanted to plunge but was unable to, so he set up a table asking for donations the night before we left and was very successful. We plan to set up an info/donation table next year to get more plungers," Kauffman said.
Most of the people who plunged wore bathing suits, even though the temperature outside was 32 degrees and the temperature of the water was 36 degrees.
"When plunging you are not allowed to wear a wet suit because that defeats the purpose of the 'polar bear' plunge. It is actually not recommended to wear a lot of clothes. A bathing suit is preferable because of how cold the water is," Holmburg said.
The organizers provided each participant with lunch, and they gave each participant a sweatshirt. The participants who raised the most money also received prizes.
"It's a fun event and a good cause, while it might be a bit cold for a second, it is all worth it," Holmburg said.
Juniors Adam Kauffman, Kate Zuraitis and Christine Holmburg, senior Christine Sotaski and freshman Brandon White plunged into the Chesapeake Bay as a part of the 12th annual Polar Bear Plunge, hosted by the Maryland State Police.
"Just for the fun of making a great charity event, we all run into the frigid Chesapeake Bay," Kauffman said.
An estimated 10,000 people gathered at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis to complete the plunge on Saturday. There were also an estimated 15,000 spectators. With each participant raising a minimum of $50, donations exceeded $3 million.
Mount students raised over $600, and they joined a team of alumni that raised over $28,000.
"This was the alumni team's first year plunging; we are currently hoping to join together next year to make one big Mount team," Kauffman said.
With two plunges scheduled to take place on Saturday, one at noon and one at 3 p.m., this was the first year with multiple plunges. Organizers also added an impromptu plunge at 1 p.m. because of the amount of people that showed up for registration.
Kauffman organized the group of Mount students who participated. This is the second year that the Mount has been involved in the plunge.
"I tried organizing this by setting up a Facebook event and having a mass email sent out. Mike Sorrentino wanted to plunge but was unable to, so he set up a table asking for donations the night before we left and was very successful. We plan to set up an info/donation table next year to get more plungers," Kauffman said.
Most of the people who plunged wore bathing suits, even though the temperature outside was 32 degrees and the temperature of the water was 36 degrees.
"When plunging you are not allowed to wear a wet suit because that defeats the purpose of the 'polar bear' plunge. It is actually not recommended to wear a lot of clothes. A bathing suit is preferable because of how cold the water is," Holmburg said.
The organizers provided each participant with lunch, and they gave each participant a sweatshirt. The participants who raised the most money also received prizes.
"It's a fun event and a good cause, while it might be a bit cold for a second, it is all worth it," Holmburg said.
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