Polar Plunge Season Kicks Off This Weekend - 19 Plunges Scheduled Statewide!

Adventurous residents all around Michigan are needed to plunge into the icy water during the 2010 Law Enforcement Torch Run® (LETR) Polar Plunge season! Participants collect pledges, put on a zany costume and jump into frigid water.

There are 19 Polar Plunges around the state this season including: Alpena, Ann Arbor, Belleville, Cheboygan, Detroit, Fenton, Gaylord, Grand Rapids, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Marquette, Mecosta/Osceola, Mount Pleasant, Muskegon, Pinckney, Saginaw/Bay City, Stanton, Traverse City. The first Polar Plunge is this Sunday, Jan. 24 at Eagle Eye Golf Course in East Lansing.

Each Polar Plunge starts with on-site registration, followed by the parade of costumes and the plunge. The fun continues with a post-plunge party and awards ceremony immediately following each plunge.

Anyone can take the plunge for a minimum donation of $50 and can pre-register online at www.somi.org. Through our website participants can set up their own online First Giving pledge page. Individuals who don’t want to plunge can also collect donations to receive incentive prizes that bare the “Too Chicken to Plunge” logo and to attend the post-plunge party.

The annual LETR® Polar Plunge is known for its zany costume contest where plungers compete for the Golden Plunger Award. The award honors the plunger with the most creative costume or best jump into the water.

All plungers receive incentive prizes and an official 2010 Polar Plunge t-shirt.

Other incentive prizes include a Polar Plunge cooler, a Polar Plunge sweatshirt, a Polar Plunge jacket. Participants who raise more than $2,500 get a Polar Plunge jacket and entry into a trip drawing. Donations are raised by collecting pledges from friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, etc.

The Polar Plunge is made possible by the Law Enforcement Torch Run®, a group of police officers and corrections personnel committed to raising funds and awareness for SOMI.

Proceeds from the Polar Plunge support the year-round sports training and athletic competition for more than 17,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities who live in Michigan. For more information on the Law Enforcement Torch Run® Polar Plunge or Special Olympics Michigan visit www.somi.org or call (800) 644-6404. Our statewide sponsors for the Polar Plunges are Real Estate One and Charter Communications.

Posted: 2010-01-18