THUNDER BAY — “Where’s my mom? Where’s my towel?”
These were the words on Saturday of a teenage jumper as she emerged from a hole carved into still-thick ice at the edge of Lake Superior, one of hundreds who took part in the annual Thunder Bay Polar Bear Plunge, an event that has raised more than $137,000 and counting.
The student quickly bolted from the waterfront, repeating the post-jump routine of most participants, who scrambled to the warming tent after doing their part for local charities, including PRO Kids, Roots Community Food Centre, Special Olympics and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.
Jennifer Aikenhead was among those who chose charity over reason and plunged into the frigid waters along with members of her OSSTF team.
Not that it was her idea, she joked.
“Actually, a co-worker of mine decided that she wanted to go in it and she wanted some other people to go in it too,” Aikenhead said.
“So, we kind of got talked into going. I don’t know if I’m crazy, or what, but it’s for a good cause, so why not?”
Matt Pawlicki, Morgan Perozak and Andraya Colistro had similar reasons for taking part, members of Chocolate the Moose.
There might have been a little bit of office pressure
“To be completely honest, our boss came up to us at work and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to put in a team.’ She knew that we were going to have to be the best team members for that, so we decided to go a long with it. It was probably the best thing we did all day,” Perozak said.
About 400 jumpers took part on Saturday, cheered on by hundreds more lining the shoreline.
Organizer Ryan Gibson said the 13th annual event, said he was thrilled at the turnout.
“It’s a home run. Last year we were around 258 plungers and we’re over 400 registered this year. I can’t believe it,” Gibson said. “I think back to when this first started, many, many years ago and just 37 people showed up for that.
“It just speaks to the community and how warm-hearted everybody is and how they give back. We’re closing in on $140,000 and our title sponsor — PDR Contracting — has said if we hit $140,000, they’re going to throw in another $10,000 to make it $150,000.”
Superior North EMS raised the most money by a team, collecting more than $17,000, while Mitch Maunu was the biggest single fundraiser, with more than $5,200.
To donate, visit the Polar Plunge website.
