Taking the Plunge for Charity

Students and faculty gear up for a chilly dip in Lake Raleigh.  

Allie Landry

Correspondent

With temperatures expected to rise no higher than 50 degrees Fahrenheit, participants in the fifth annual Polar Plunge will again take to the frigid waters of Lake Raleigh this Saturday. It’s all for a good cause, however, as donations benefit the Special Olympics of North Carolina.  

The event begins at 9 a.m. with a 5K run/walk through a USATF certified course on Centennial Campus. Kids ages 6 to 10 can also participate in a kid’s dash at 10 a.m. Runners and onlookers can then wash off at 11 a.m. during the N.C. State University Police Department’s Polar Plunge.  

The Polar Plunge is a part of fundraising efforts by police departments nationwide for the Special Olympics. Steve Carlton, an officer in the NCSU Police Department, is one of the main coordinators of the event.  

“Some people in the department got the idea for the Polar Plunge from other agencies across the country that have been doing it for years and years,” Carlton said. “It started with only a handful of people. This year we expect it to be one of our largest fundraising amounts.” 

Participants who take a dip are expected to raise money as a group or individually. Creative and off the wall costumes are encouraged, as Olivia Laney, an organizer of the event, hopes to keep it light-hearted and fun.  

“We’ve seen a ‘Gilligan’s Island’ crew. We’ve got employees from the Department of Corrections who dress up in jail outfits,” Laney said of the various costumes she has seen in the past. “Last year somebody from yearbook came out in a big yearbook costume.” 

So far about 500 people have signed up for the 5K. 

“Our registration has tripled since last year,” Laney said of participation in the 5K. “We’re really excited about the growth.”

Although understandably not as popular as the 5K, participation in the Polar Plunge has also grown this year to about 60 people. Laney says that holding the event during Spring Break last year may have decreased student participation.  

“We hope to have a lot more students out there this time,” she said.  

The 5K is the third race in the 2010 Second Empire Grand-Prix Series, which consists of eight races in the spring and eight races in the fall. Participants accumulate points for each run they compete in, which are tabulated for the whole series.  

Laney anticipates the event will raise about $40,000 for the children and adults who participate in Special Olympics programs in North Carolina.  

“The funds raised by the Polar Plunge and 5k will help provide athletic uniforms, training and competition facilities, sports equipment, and medals and ribbons to award athletes,” Laney said.  

Kelly Vernon, a sophomore in business administration and international relations, took the plunge last year and will be running in the 5K this year.  

“It was the coldest thing I’ve ever done,” Vernon said of the experience. “It really does feel like knives in your lungs.” 

In addition to participating, Vernon is also involved in promoting the event to N.C. State students. She says this year she will be working at a booth signing pledges during the actual plunge and will not be taking a dip.  

“I’m not too sad about that either,” she said. “I would do it again, though.”