Special Olympics New Hanover County hosts its annual Polar Plunge

KURE BEACH, NC (WWAY) —Hundreds of people gathered for the annual Polar Plunge and run, held in support of the New Hanover County Special Olympics athletes on Saturday.

People participated in the 5k, 1-mile fun run/walk, and taking a dip in the chilling waters of the atlantic ocean in the polar plunge,.  Organizers of the event say the polar plunge is symbolic, following the motto of “some people are just worth freezing for.”  The annual event is the Special Olympics New Hanover County’s largest annual fundraiser.

“It makes me feel good, and I feel like it’s a good cause, and we raise money and if it wasn’t for raising money there wouldn’t be no special Olympics,” said Ian Lerch, participant.

“So this is honestly a record breaking year. We’ve had about 550 people sign up to do the run, walk, plunge. So it’s been a pretty huge year, and the athletes fundraising have raised themselves over $24,000,” said Brooke DeAmaral, New Hanover County Special Olympics coordinator.

Special Olympics New Hanover County provides year-round sports training, competition, social events, and Camp Shriver summer camp for individuals eight years of age and older with intellectual disabilities.