PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Thousands of people gathered outside Citizens Bank Park on Saturday to cheer on those jumping into ice cold water in the middle of winter — for a good cause.
The Polar Plunge in South Philadelphia was part of a weekend fundraiser for Special Olympics Pennsylvania.
“People coming out in the middle of February to jump in a pool. What's not fun about that?” said Matt Aaron, the organization’s president and CEO. “They're all dumping ice in the pool to make sure it's extra chilly for everybody.”
The organization aimed to raise upwards of $500,000 through the weekend plunge events. According to Aaron, it all goes to help Special Olympics Pennsylvania fund about a thousand competitions each year across the state.
“So many times our athletes, individuals with intellectual disabilities, spend their lives with people, society in general telling them, ‘No, you can't do this because you have a disability.’ Special Olympics is an organization that says yes.”
“When I was in the air, I was like, ‘Oh, this can be so much fun,’” said Matthew Dolan, who participated in Saturday’s plunge on behalf of his fraternity. “I hit the water. I'm like, ‘This is not fun.’”
Special Olympics athlete Joe Eitl said he enjoyed doing it, and made the plunge for someone special. “I do it for my girlfriend Michelle,” he said.
Eitl’s mother Peg said watching him participate in the polar plunge made her proud.
“Joe had a heart and liver transplant,” she explained. “We’re more than three years out now that he spent almost two years in the hospital. So to see him able to do this, it just makes my heart so happy. And he's a participant. He's a Special Olympics participant and it was Special Olympics that got him through some really dark days.”
And while many came out to raise money by subjecting themselves to freezing water, Aaron says that’s not the only way to support the Special Olympics’ mission.
“If jumping into cold water is not your thing, we always need financial support to make our work possible,” he said, “and we need coaches.”