This is what makes our country great

While political candidates fight it out on airwaves across the land telling voters how they can make our country better, nongovernmental organizations are on the ground getting the job done.

An exciting and highly visible example of that will take place this Sunday, Feb. 5. We’re not talking about the Super Bowl.

At 1 p.m., thousands of people of all ages will strip down to their bathing suits and go running and screaming into 43-degree surf at the foot of Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach. And they will do this willingly!

They will crowd the Boardwalk and the beach - wider now than ever thanks to the latest replenishment project - and make the stinging-cold jump to benefit the worthy and inspiring athletes of Special Olympics Delaware.  They will raise hundreds of thousands of dollars of nongovernment funds for this nongovernment organization to help special needs people live more fulfilling lives.

And, they will have fun while they sacrifice themselves to the purifying cold of the wintry Atlantic and feel good about what they have done.

Those who haven’t witnessed this spectacle owe it to themselves to take a break from whatever they’re doing and take a look.  Teams of people come from all over Delaware, carrying banners, walking the Boardwalk in slippers and robes, standing in line to register and hand in their pledges, feeding on the positive energy of all those around them.

Some of them don handmade, creative costumes themed for the Lewes Polar Bears Polar Plunge event.  They strut their stuff while DJs broadcast popular music and announcements through loudspeakers as the 1 p.m. plunge approaches.

The Polar Plunge for Special Olympics Delaware, in its 21st year, has grown into a winter festival in Rehoboth Beach which also gives a boost to the downtown economy.

This big, happy event shows what people can do on their own when it comes to a cause they truly believe in.