History junior Antoine Helou reacts to the cold water Sunday at Eagle Eye Golf Club during the Lansing Polar Plunge. The Lansing Polar Plunge raises money for the Special Olympics of Michigan. Betsy Agosta/The State News
Anticipation buzzed through the crowd as plungers donning all kinds of costumes prepared to submerge themselves in the frigid depths early Sunday afternoon in Bath Township.
At Lansing’s 10th annual Polar Plunge, families and friends gathered to make the plunge or watch the participants from a warm distance. All the money generated from the event provides funding for athletes participating in the Special Olympics of Michigan.
Eagle Eye Golf Course, which served as the venue for the fundraiser, was teeming with volunteers and spectators.
Lansing resident Joanna Alvera, who is responsible for the registration process in the program, said the fundraiser has grown significantly since it began 10 years ago.
“We first started off and we had 29 plungers,” Alvera said. ”We thought we were big then.”
About 300 people jumped into the small pond Sunday night. In total, the divers raised about $60,000.
The plunge works to provide sports training and athletic competition in 23 different Olympic-type sports for members of the community with intellectual disabilities.
Alvera, who also is a special education teacher in Holt, Mich., takes athletes to local and sometimes national competitions.
“It’s wonderful to watch all of the community plunge for a great cause,” Alvera said. “It’s wonderful to be involved.”
Area 8 consists of Ingham and Eaton counties, and Alvera said they have a large sense of support from the community.
The competitions give athletes a sense of inclusion with their peers and fosters growth and bonding in the community.
“I think they want the bragging rights, and I think they all might have a connection to the Special Olympics, whether they know or have an athlete,” Alvera said.
Many citizens participate in the plunge year after year and enjoy the experience. Braving the cold for a good cause can be satisfying and even invigorating, Olivet College senior Milie Funk said.
“All these people wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the Special Olympics of Michigan that we’re here for,” Funk said.
Dozens of businesses and organizations came out to support the cause and adorned matching ensembles.
Elementary education junior Kaitlin Close and advertising junior Hannah Reens jumped together dressed as Wonder Woman and Superwoman.
“We jumped as a part of Greek life for the cause,” Close said. ”I would do it again.”
Some plungers also were given awards for the creativity and extent of their costumes.
“It’s just a great organization where 100 percent of the profit goes to the athletes competing,” Alvera said.
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