Chatham-Kent set the bar nice and high for the 2025 Polar Plunges for Special Olympics Ontario.
More than 150 people took the plunge into the cold water at Sons of Kent Brewing Co. in Chatham on Saturday amid freezing temperatures, raising more than $63,000.
Chatham-Kent police Sergeant Jason Herder, who co-organized the event again, said they were only about halfway to their $50,000 goal with about a week left, but by the time the first plunger hit the water, they had already topped that mark.
"Just counting the cash we had prior to the first body hitting the water, we were sitting at I think it was $57,000," said Sgt. Herder. "As an organizer watching us go from a week out only having $25,000 raised to over $60,000 in a week and watching all of the support come in... it's a very humbling experience as an organizer."
The Polar Plunge in Chatham-Kent is the first in a series of similar events that are taking place across Ontario with another jump set for January 23 hosted by LaSalle Police.
Sgt. Herder said the organizers are "thrilled" with the final totals they took in this year to kick things off.
"It's a blessing and a curse being the first plunge for the province every year," said Herder. "It's always fun setting the bar nice and high for the remainder of the plunges... and when a smaller urban area such as Chatham-Kent can put together $63,000 raised and we're always in the top three or four of those fundraisers, it really speaks volumes to the heart of this community and how everyone rallies together to support great causes such as Special Olympics."
Herder said he's already looking forward to next year, adding that he may have to reconsider his choice of footwear.
"It was more of a 'slip and fall' by the time I had to jump... being the last one in," said Herder. "My adage of wearing crocs to jump in didn't work as well as I had wanted to... the water was still pretty cold there at the end of the day, but it was definitely worth every second of it."
Similar Polar Plunge events are set to take place in Windsor-Essex and London on February 28 with more than 30 plunges taking place across Ontario altogether.
You can click here to find a list of the other events that will be taking place.