Lake Zurich’s lake water was actually warmer, reporting on an online site at 32 degrees, when the 12th annual Purple Plunge in Lake Zurich took place at 11 a.m. with sunny, breezy weather at 24 degrees at Breezewald Park and beach on March 1.
The Saturday fundraiser with raffle and tent party drew approximately 550 participants called plungers with a fundraising goal of more than $250,000 to assist families of patients experiencing cancer treatment.
Since the beginning of the Purple Plunge, “We have given out $940,000 to the community,“ helping hundreds of families, said Paul Hunt of Lake Zurich, president of the Purple Plunge, a 501c3 charity based in Lake Zurich.
“This year, we are expecting to get $1 million given back to the community,” Hunt said. “I’m just in disbelief, I would have never have imagined 12 years ago, I would be standing here with a 60-foot by 80-foot tent, with hundreds and hundreds of plungers, thousands of people watching, and just the number of support from the community, the volunteers, the businesses, the donors, I don’t even know what to feel.
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“We are all here for a different reason,” Hunt added. “But we are all here for each other.”
Since 2013, the Purple Plunge has assisted cancer-impacted families facing unexpected situations including income loss and expenses associated with medical care. Doctor visits, gas prices, transportation and meals can adversely impact family budgets.
How the Lake County charity works is when a person receives a cancer diagnosis, they are eligible to apply for funding from the Purple Plunge. The patient diagnosis is verified with the medical provider and the charity votes as a board to approve funding.
The Polar Plunge began in memory of Buffalo Grove resident Mary Jo Bordenave who died on Feb. 25, 2013 from lung cancer.
Barry Bordenave of Buffalo Grove, Mary Jo’s spouse and Purple Plunge vice-president, said on Saturday morning before the plunge, “I just thank everybody, we’ve helped 472 families as of today.”
Barry Bordenave noticed in event attendance, “A bunch of people that we’ve helped are here and it’s just great to see what impact the Purple Plunge has had on those people and the whole community,” Bordenave said.
Barry Bordenave personally delivers checks to recipient families and spends time with families to listen to their stories.
Bordenave said about the memory of spouse Mary Jo Bordenave, “She’d be proud of what everybody does here for her.”
The schedule included a ribbon cutting on the beach before plunging. A costume contest also took place among fundraising teams and this year’s trophy winner for best costume was the Poll-Sicles “Founding Fathers” plunging fundraising team.
Participants of the Poll-Sicles dressed up as historic characters including President George Washington.
Anthony Fiore of Mundelein donned a white wig and a classic suit seen in paintings of that American era.
The March 1 Purple Plunge was Fiore’s first time at plunging.
“George Washington sailed across the Delaware and I’m going to sail across this lake here, and we’re just doing it, because that’s what we gotta do, the founding fathers,” Fiore said.
“It’s a great cause, excited to be here participating, supporting it all, it’s just a great charity and just happy to be here and be a part of it,” Fiore added.
Kathleen Bordenave of Lake Zurich, who is distantly related to Mary Jo Bordenave, was a plunger on Saturday.
Several of Kathleen Brodenave’s relatives have had cancer, “So it’s very close to me.”
Kathleen Bordenave said Lake County neighbors help each other.
“I love living in Lake County,” Kathleen Bordenave said. “My husband and I will go somewhere, like not in Lake Zurich, say somewhere farther, and we’ll see somebody walking around wearing one of the Purple Plunge t-shirts, and we’re like, ‘Whoa!’”
Lake Zurich siblings Ryan McKiernan, 10, a fourth-grader and Patrick McKiernan, 11, a sixth-grader took the plunge.
Their father Ted McKiernan said. “We have done this for a couple of years, it’s good support for our community.”
Patrick McKiernan said it is important to participate, “because you can show people,” to help.
Ryan McKiernan said one person, “can do something really good for the community and then help everybody.”
Andrew Epstein of Lake Zurich, a repeat plunger and also on the board of directors with the Purple Plunge, said, “It’s amazing to see the community come together.
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“We’re very proud.”
Visit https://www.purpleplunge.org/the-plunge.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.