Hundreds plunge into icy lake to raise money for Special Olympics - Courier-Journal

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

Hundreds of hardy, or perhaps just foolhardy, people plunged into the icy waters of Deam Lake in Borden Sunday for the 2010 Polar Plunge.

The event, a fundraiser which benefits the Special Olympics Indiana Area 2, is called "Freezin’ For A Reason."

The water temperature registered just 32 degrees as torch bearer and Special Olympian Adam Sandifer prepared to make the first plunge.

“It was too cold to register a temperature at all earlier this morning,” said Bobbie Binggeli, the event’s co-chair.

The Indiana State Police Dive Team broke a hole in the ice covering the lake before the event could proceed. “It’s a good three inches thick,” said team member Eric Thumb.

Plungers were required to raise at least $75 each before being allowed to take the chilly dip.

“We raised $53,000 last year,” said Binggeli. “I think we’ll do about that this year. We expect about 300 people to participate.”

Many businesses and community groups sponsored teams, which plunged together. Most came in costume, or at least matching T-shirts.

The Vectren Tribe team was 20 strong as they mentally prepared for the plunge by dancing around a large inflatable polar bear that served as a mascot for the event. The team was dressed in tribal gear and carried poles with polar bears affixed.

Not all tribe members were Vectren employees. “We encouraged other companies to join with us today,” said Greg Alexander, a service specialist with the electricity and gas utility. “We want to challenge other companies to come out next year.”

Jeff Bridges, a Ford Motor Company employee, joined the Vectren Tribe. “My whole family came out today,” he said. “All six of us are going in.”

“No we’re not,” came a response from the interior of his vehicle.

Vectren was one of the event’s biggest sponsors, donating $2,500.

As a member of team Humana, which dressed like pirates, Binggeli was proud of her team’s fundraising. “Humana raised a bunch of money. I think it’s about $4,000.”

Fred Flintstone, a leprechaun, a snowman and what seemed to be the entire cast of Alice in Wonderland were just some of the costumes represented in a contest which preceded the plunge.

One group of 17 friends, calling themselves the Chilly Willies, sported bandanas and braids a la Willie Nelson.

Awards were to be presented at an After Splash Bash held at The Center at Mercy Providence Retirement Home in New Albany.

The five members of the police dive team stood chest deep in the water, giving high-fives to plungers and standing by if anyone needed assistance.

Sporting bright yellow T-shirts, a contingent of Clarksville High School students made the plunge. “I can’t feel my legs!” one boy shouted as he emerged.

Numb extremities were a common complaint by many as they emerged from the lake.

“It was cold,” said Diana Haycraft, who took the plunge dressed as a guitar. She emerged clutching a chunk of ice, as did many others.

“It wasn’t that bad,” said Danielle Ramser, who plunged with the Vectren Tribe.

“It was pretty cold, though,” said teammate Molly Voyles. “There were chunks of ice floating around.”

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.