They say it’s not the destination, but the journey that is important… And while we are not here to disagree with “them” whoever they are, this year we set a massive and incredibly important goal for the 2024 Polar Plunge journey - $1,000,000. This goal represents years of commitment and hard work from our community. And whether you participated as a Plunger, a Towel Holder, a donor, a member of the cheering section, a team captain, a rescue diver, a vendor, a sponsor, a Law Enforcement Torch Run leader, a school hosting a mobile plunge, a brewery hosting a mobile plunge, a company (you guessed it) hosting a mobile plunge, or just someone who liked and/or shared our posts on social media, you were a part of the journey that brought us to today’s destination! As of this morning, the 2024 Special Olympics Massachusetts Polar Plunge has raised over $1,000,000 for the first time in our history.

A few short years ago, we were ecstatic about growing the event to 800 people and raising $350,000. We are so proud of the people and partners who started this movement back then and hope they share in the joy of what their commitment has allowed us all to accomplish today.

Here are a few highlights from the journey (So far! We still have nine plunges on the books between now and the end of April)

• 275 Plungers registered in the first weekend – a record!

• In November, we took delivery of our brand-new Bear Force One Mobile Plunge Unit.

• On December 15th North Reading High School hosted the first ever Bear Force One Plunge at a school

• 4,200+ people took the plunge – a record!

• 480+ Teams

• 57 Corporate Teams

• 63 Law Enforcement Teams

• 26 Local Program Teams

• 138 Schools teams!!

• 35 Total Plunges – a record

• 20 total Bear Force One Plunges

• 8 Schools hosted plunges for the first time

• 15,850+ donations – a record!

And here is the cool part of the goal, it’s just the beginning! (so maybe “they” were right!) With the addition of Bear Force One and the growth we have seen over the past few years, we know this accomplishment can catapult us into the future of Plunge fundraising and the destination is unknown, but the journey will be a ton of fun and incredibly impactful because you are all on board the road to who knows where!

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