Hawaiian shorts, bare chests, a tall leprechaun wearing a large inner tube and even a few tutus were among the sights seen from those who splashed into Lake Michigan at Evanston’s Clark Street beach in the name of the Special Olympics, representing the Park Ridge community at the 2017 Polar Plunge.
In spite of unseasonably warm weather, participants showed that high temperatures did not take the zeal out of fundraising efforts. For some, it didn’t even take the polar out of their plunge.
????”Horrible,” acting Mayor Marty Maloney said of the water just after the Park Ridge team plunged. “It was much colder than what I thought it was going to be. Literally, take your breath away. … Very shocking.”
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For a so-called “polar” plunge event, temperatures hit 70 degrees by early afternoon on Feb.18, just around the time of the plunge. Water temperatures were around 40.
Whether the plunge was a challenge was subjective.
“I think it qualifies.” Maloney said. ?”The temperature of the air may not qualify. But the temperature of the water more than makes up for it.”
The Polar Plunge is one of several events conducted by Special Olympics Illinois in conjunction with law enforcement. This is Maloney’s first year as a plunger.
“I wish I had come out here before. It’s a neat thing to see everyone come out for the Special Olympics,” he said.
There were 19 Park Ridge plungers for the 2017 Lake Michigan Polar Plunge. This year’s team consisted of mostly ?police officers, department staff, youth commission, ?elected officials and police explorers.
“[Police departments] in general do a lot more than just protect and serve, they actually participate in things like this, which makes a big difference,” 1st Ward Ald. John Moran said. “When they’re here with high school students doing this with them side-by-side, it really helps solidify their commitment to the community. It’s a great thing. I’m happy to help them, and they all do a great job.”
As the Park Ridge team began to retreat from the water, Moran dunked Park Ridge Police Chief Kaminski.
“No, I wasn’t expecting that,” Kaminski said. “That was great. They want you to do a full immersion, I have a tendency to do the speed in and speed out. …They wouldn’t let me get away with that.”
Each plunger is expected to raise at least $100 for Special Olympics, and each team has a goal. In total, the Park Ridge Police and Community Pact raised $3,920, as of Tuesday afternoon. The team is still accepting donations at www.soill.donordrive.com to meet its $4,500 goal.
In addition to $100 minimum plungers, there are “super plungers” who plunge every hour on the hour for 25 hours, who began the previous day to raise more money
“I did the Polar Plunge for eight years, three in which I was a super plunger,” Park Ridge Police Officer Julie Genualdi said. She and Cmdr. Bob Kampwirth were dressed in blues on the beach supporting the Park Ridge plungers.
“This year, we’re working. So that’s why we’re not going in,” Kampwirth said. ?”It’s very important. The Special Olympics is a great cause?. The athletes are phenomenal people, and any way we can support that cause, we’re there for them.”
Although she has been a Polar Plunge participant in the past, Genualdi wasn’t going in the water and quipped about the extraordinary warm weather.
“This is not fair,” she said with a laugh. “The hours of putting Vaseline on my legs so that they wouldn’t get cut by the ice is probably something I think they should all experience.”
“It’s good,” she added. “It will encourage people maybe who will come out and do it again and again and just grow this effort that is so dear to my heart.”
Deputy Police Chief Duane Mellema said every person who plunges “brings in more money to a fantastic charity.”
“Whether or not it’s cold — I’m going to enjoy the fact that it’s not cold this year,” Mellema said. “It’s so mild. It’s like a regular dip in the lake; it is not nearly as tortuous and cold as it usually is.”
Mellema said it was his 10th time as a participant.
“Just a teeny bit,” Mellema said about whether the weather took the polar out of his plunge. “It’s not as hard when you’re coming out and you start warming up right away.”
Mellema said he felt the weather contributed to there being more plungers this year. Mellema said he started plunging 10 years ago with three or four participants from the city.
“It has really picked up in the past couple years. I don’t know if that’s more involvement with the police department just roping in more people. But it’s definitely nice to have a lot more people coming in,” said his son, Jake Mellema, 16. “When there’s more people, it feels more like a community when you’re jumping in. And you really get the sense that there are more people that actually care for the charity, that are actually doing stuff to help promote this.”
Jake Mellema is a junior at Maine South? and was in his sixth year as a plunger.
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“It think it was just about the warmest one that I’ve ever done. I’m a little disappointed in that aspect. But I mean, it’s pretty nice. I get to work on my tan,” he said.
Did the weather take the polar out of his plunge?
“Pretty much,” he said. “I prefer when it is around like 20-ish and actually cold.”
“The first couple of years, that’s the way it was, and then global warming … ruined everything I guess,” he said with a laugh.
As for next year, he smiled as he said he hoped it would be “maybe a little bit colder.”
Taryn Galbreath is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.