Participants raised $6,881 for Watauga County’s Special Olympics at Appalachian State’s 15th annual Polar Plunge at Duck Pond Thursday.
The event had 142 plungers, the same number as in 2012, jump into 38-degree water.
The top fundraisers for groups were ASU Sports Management, which raised $1,592, and ASU ROTC, which raised $1,080.
Stacey Critcher raised the most as an individual with $252, while Keron Poteat was the next closest, raising $133.
Katy Huis, a freshman public relations major, participated with the Chi Omega sorority.
“My heart stopped for a second and my body froze up and afterward it was really hard to get warm for a minute, but I’m glad that I did it,” Huis said. “It was fun to be with everybody else shivering.”
Roachel Laney, assistant professor of health, leisure and exercise science, held a barbecue where patrons paid $5 to eat to benefit the Polar Plunge. Laney ended up donating $1,592.
Plunger donations totaled $3,289.06 while corporate sponsors donated $2,000.
ASU Police has helped to put on the event for the past 13 years.
Even though this year’s Polar Plunge raised less than previous years, ASU Police Cheif Gunther Doerr said there is no set goal for an amount to raise, and he considers the event to have been a successful one.
All the money donated will go to sponsor Watauga Special Olympics athletes, according to the Feb. 21 issue of The Appalachian.
Story: JOSHUA FARMER, News Editor
Photo Illustration: MARK KENNA, Staff Photographer