Special Olympics Kansas needs a few hardy souls who are willing to grin and polar bear it.
On Feb. 10, the group will bring its Polar Plunge to Emporia. In exchange for a donation to Special Olympics, Emporians will get the chance to jump into freezing water.
Sounds thrilling, doesn’t it? But somehow it never fails to draw a crowd.
“I know it’s crazy,” said Debbi DeVenuto of Special Olympics Kansas, which held its first plunge in 1998 in Kansas City. “But it’s really a lot of fun.”
The Polar Plunge came to Topeka and Manhattan two years ago and then Wichita and Salina last year. With the three major cities in the state covered, DeVenuto said, the agency decided it was time to hit the next level of communities.
Emporia’s been active in the Special Olympics for some time, with activities such as a winter basketball competition or a summer training camp at Emporia State University.
“It made sense to see if we could offset some of the costs of those programs in the Emporia community,” DeVenuto said.
Local Special Olympics coach Shawn Rumold said he and others had been working for a while to get the plunge in Emporia. He’s already recruited his boss at Hopkins Manufacturing and several department heads to dive in with him.
“I’m going to get soaked no matter what, so I’m going to get some poor suckers in with me,” Rumold said.
The organization hopes to raise at least $5,000 from the event, DeVenuto said. Along with Emporia, Pittsburg is also taking the plunge for the first time.
Participation requires a bit of guts and a minimum $75 donation. But there’s also a costume contest and a number of awards such as Most Enthusiastic or Wimpiest Plunger to keep things interesting. And indeed they do.
“The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Department had some folks who dressed up as characters from the Dukes of Hazzard, including one young black deputy who dressed as Daisy Duke,” DeVenuto said. Another plunge drew a divorcee’ who never wanted to see her wedding dress again — so she wore it into the water.
The Emporia plunge will take place at Mouse Lake, 1101 Topeka St. Registration will begin at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 10 followed by a parade of costumes and the plunge itself at 11:30 a.m. Winners will be announced at a party afterward at Carlos O’Kelly’s, 2144 W. U.S. Highway 50.