It was a record-setting year for the Polar Plunge in Kentucky in 2010 with nearly 2,500 people hitting pools, lakes and rivers at six events throughout the state. Those Polar Bears raised a whopping $618,300, easily surpassing last year's mark of $510,000.
Some of that growth was thanks to the tremendous success of the state's newest Polar Plunge at Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park in Western Kentucky. That event saw 174 Polar Bears brave chilly Kentucky Lake on Saturday, Feb. 20 to raise nearly $30,000.
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Two returning Plunges also saw huge surges. The Kentucky-Ohio Plunge in Newport on the first Saturday in February jumped from $96,000 to more than $124,000 with almost 500 participants, despite a winter storm that dropped five inches of snow on the area on the night before and the morning of the Plunge. And the Louisville Polar Plunge, in it's second year at Presenting Sponsor Tumbleweed on the River saw a more than 30% increase raising a staggering $340,000. Nearly 1300 people took the Plunge just in Louisville. Both the amount raised and the number of participants broke the event record set in 2008. More than $52,000 of that total was raised by the Ice Socks team Led by Russell Miller, which has been that Plunge's top fundraising team in each of the past five years. This year the Ice Socks had 50 team members taking the Plunge. The $52,000 is the most ever raised by a single team for a Kentucky Polar Plunge. The Ice Socks have raised well over $100,000 for Special Olympics in their time involved in the Plunge.
As has been the case for the past several years, Polar Bears who raised a minimum of $250 qualified for a drawing for a Caribbean cruise for two on board Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines courtesy of AAA Travel. For the second straight year the winner was one of our Owensboro Plungers. Vicki Johns will be making her getaway and warming up on the cruise.
For a recap of each individual Plunge, click the link to the specific event below.
The Polar Plunge continues to be largest fundraising program on the Special Olympics Kentucky Calendar. In the 13 years since the first Plunge was held in Louisville, events throughout the state have raised more than $4 million for Special Olympics programs statewide. For more information about how you can be involved in the the 2011 Polar Plunges — either as a participant or as a sponsor, contact Anna Beth Logan (Lake Cumberland, Lexington and Kentucky-Ohio) or Candace Thompson (Louisville, Owensboro and Western Kentucky) at 800-633-7403, 502-695-8222 or via e-mail at ablogan@soky.org or cthompson@soky.org.
