More than one hundred brave individuals from across the region convened along the banks of the North Platte River in Scottsbluff Saturday morning for the 13th Annual Panhandle Polar Plunge.
The event is one of the biggest fundraiser for special Olympics Nebraska and our local athletes, and Charlie Kennedy tells KNEB News says its amazing to see the amount raised each year.
“Polar plunge is our cash cow as far as our fundraiser that raises the most money in one event,” says Kennedy. “We’re in Scottsbluff, most of the the meets are in eastern Nebraska. So we have the most expense as far as travel to regional and state games. If we’re taking a group of 60 people, we have to charter bus, we have to provide meals, lodging, so it’s very expensive.”
Scotts Bluff County Sheriff Mark Overman and Chief Deputy Troy Brown kicked off the plunge by leading by example, followed by approximately 20 Special Olympic athletes and their extended family.
Group after group, teams took the plunge into the water while dealing with strong wind gusts. A silver lining for our Panhandle Polar Plunge is that High Plains Spas always donates a few hot tubs for plungers to warm up after.
This year when all was said and done, approximately $28,000 was raised.
