It was hard to miss the irony last month when officials decided to postpone the 19th annual Polar Bear Plunge because of a blizzard – but no one could argue with that decision when nature unleashed a historic storm that downed power lines, closed highways and generally brought the region to a standstill.
Cheerfully renamed the Polar Bear O’Plunge, the event was rescheduled for Sunday, March 14.
On Friday night, despite persistent rain, participants began arriving in Rehoboth Beach for a full weekend of events that involved dozens of restaurants, retail shops, local businesses and volunteers.
Even with a five-week postponement, an angry ocean and thick fog briefly threatened to delay the event yet again. But the day brightened, and with state police divers marking a perimeter and a Coast Guard boat at the ready, a throng of 2,323 participants leaped into the churning froth to raise funds for Special Olympics Delaware.
If anyone were forced to take a dip in a 41-degree ocean, someone would surely call it torture. Yet this event attracts participants of all types, from elementary schoolchildren and high school teams to individuals, multigeneration family groups, business and office groups and even Gov. Jack Markell. By the thousands, participants, along with their supporters, crowd the beach as they await the start, some wrapped in blankets, others in costume, but many braving the chill in bikinis and high spirits.
Their 10-second dip this year raised more than $500,000, an astonishing sum that brings the total to more than $5 million since the fundraiser began in 1992.
Special Olympics Delaware uses sports as a platform to create life-changing experiences for those touched by the organization’s program.
Every year, the Lewes Polar Bear Plunge unites the Cape Region community in an event that not only supports this cause but also provides participants with a taste of the life-changing experience that Special Olympics brings to everyone.
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