Students to ‘plunge’ for the Special Olympics
Members of the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority enter the icy water as their sisters cheer from the shore during the Law Enforcement Torch Run Polar Plunge on February 28, 2015 at Lake Sara in Effingham. Special Olympics is one of the organizations that the sorority gives to nationally.
March 2, 2016
Groups of Eastern students will jump into Lake Sara for the annual Polar Plunge Saturday in Effingham.
The Polar Plunge will benefit Area 9 of the Illinois Special Olympics and the athletes that participate in the program.
There is a competition between various groups to raise the most money for the Special Olympics prior to the event.
Eastern’s fundraising group has 47 members and has raised $6,465 for this year’s event.
So far, the groups taking part in the Polar Plunge have raised $28,273.92 in total from 380 participants.
A common tradition among Polar Plunge participants is to wear a humorous costume to the event, with many teams wearing matching outfits.
Eastern’s team will be wearing customized T-shirts with their group’s logo and the theme for the event, which will be “Swan Lake” this year. To go along with the “Swan Lake” theme, members of the team will also be wearing pink tutus.
Jessica Nolen, the president of Sigma Rho Epsilon, an honorary fraternity for special education majors at Eastern, has participated in the Polar Plunge for all four years that she has been a student at Eastern.
She said she is really looking forward to this year’s event.
“It’s a fun event. (It’s) something different that I never thought I would do before,” she said.
Nolen said Eastern’s Polar Plunge team is a mix of members from SRE, Best Buddies and the Student Council for Exceptional Children.
The department of special education’s fundraising group already has some plans in place for when they enter the waters of Lake Sara.
One thing the team is hoping for is at least one of the Golden Plungers, which are given out for various team achievements.
There are also perks for raising money individually, such as a sweatshirt earned after receiving $100 worth of donations and a Bluetooth speaker after an individual raises $500, among other prizes.
An after-party for participants will be held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Effingham, with food provided by Catering By Martin’s.
Nicholas Teresky can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].
