Polar Bear Plunge Cool Schools Challenge-Freezin’ for a reason: Photo of the Day 1/26/17

Brave+Lancers+pose+with+the+polar+bear+before+they+plunge.

courtesy of Jeremy Brown

Brave Lancers pose with the polar bear before they plunge.

by Emily Reed, Managing Editor

On a  windy January day just barely above freezing, 21 Lancers, along with thousands of other teenagers, jumped into the Chesapeake Bay as part of an activity called the Polar Bear Cool Schools Plunge to raise money for Special Olympics.

The plungers left the school in the morning on the bus for Sandy Point State Park. They arrived at the site around 10:30 and were invited to eat lunch, provided by Wawa. The plungers ran into the icy waters just about noon.

The main sponsor of the event was Aerotek, a staffing company. The other sponsors include: The Council of Baltimore Ravens Roosts, Rams Head, WBAL-TV 11, WBAL News Radio 109.0, 98 Rock Baltimore, Amergas, Wawa, Famous Dave’s, Flying Dog Brewery, the Greene Turtle, St. John Properties, Kelly Generator and Equipment Inc., Constellation, Chick-fil-a, New Day USA, Carnival, Generac, and American Legion.

The bravest plungers ran all the way out to high five the Maryland state police guarding the swimming borders.  Even the more timid plungers were numb after a few seconds. After drying off, to thaw out frozen body parts, some students had packed toe warmers and hand warmers.

“I’ll be definitely going again next year,” said Erika Katsumoto, a member of the Class of 2019.

As a whole, the Polar Plunge raised $246,284 of its $250,000 goal to support the Special Olympics. Linganore High School SGA set a goal to raise $3,500 and at the moment, they’ve raised $2,160.

Next year, Oakdale, the only other school in Frederick County that participates in the Plunge, has challenged Linganore to see who can raise more money. Considering that this year they’ve raised double the amount that Linganore has, the SGA and the students plunging will  work even harder to beat Oakdale in this friendly competition.

While that is in the future, there is still time to donate to the Lancer Plunge team. Donations are still being accepted through the end of January. Donate by clicking here.