Brrrr! People take icy plunge for Special Olympics

Polar Bear Plunge

Video

2008 Freezin' for a Reason Polar Bear Plunge at Mosquite Lake State Park

CORTLAND — Forty-eight participants in the Polar Bear Plunge raised $10,059 for Special Olympics Ohio when they ran into the icy waters of Mosquito Lake.

“It was cold,” Sabrina Bailey of Andover, a first-time plunger, said of the lake water, shivering while friends dried her off with a beach towel. When she first hit the water, “it hurt,” said Bailey, who wore a swimsuit and sneakers. However, she said she participated “for a good cause” and would take the plunge again.

The Saturday afternoon event was the first of six such plunges scheduled statewide this winter as fundraisers for Special Olympics, and the first held in the Youngstown-Warren area for that organization.

The atmosphere was festive as plungers walked down the snow-covered state park beach, entering and leaving the chilly water within about 30 seconds.

After the event, plungers were treated to a warm-up party at Trumbull Moose Lodge 186 in Warren, which co-sponsored the event along with Moose Lodge 1012 in Cortland and the Warren Fire Department.