Share your Plunge Stories!

The best Plunge stories we hear are from our Bears themselves. And yet we know, we don’t even hear half of them.

That’s why we’ve created this page. It’s an opportunity for our Bears to tell their stories: Why they plunge? How they started? What keeps them going? Who they plunge with? And many other interesting tidbits.

What makes a story good enough for this page? Simple - no true story will be turned down. It might be edited, but it will be told.

And if you know a friend who has a great story, please let them know about this page.

We will add stories leading up to and following the 2012 Plunge as they are submitted.

Story added Jan. 16, 2012

Fifteen years ago, my sister Kristen came up with this crazy idea to do some polar bear plunge in Rehoboth ... she said it was for Special Olympics Delaware and I, a special education teacher, thought that it might be fun. So, I decided to give it a try. We went down with some friends and on a cold, Sunday morning/afternoon we went for our first plunge and were hooked! Over the past 14 years, we have gone with many different plungers and our plunge group has continued to grow to include: my children Kacie (16), Aidan (10), Declan (7), and maybe this year Ella (4), the Rees family, Mike Rees and his kids Dylan (10) and Jack (7), my wife's brother Mike Fischer and many single year plungers along the way. But, as all veteran plungers know, it's way more than just the plungers ... it's the plunge support staff that makes it happen! My wife, Amy, along with Mike Rees' wife, Karen, Mike Fischer's wife Diana, Amy's parents and so many others have always supported our insanity ... they have dealt with our anxieties over the years of making it to the beach by 1:00 and helping to get us registered and get the kids ready. They take pictures, hold our towels, cheer us on, and help us change into warm clothes. They are the best plunge support staff ever!!!! We have made an annual tradition of heading down on Friday night to my in-law's house, playing Polar Golf on Saturdays (regardless of the weather) and going to Arena's for a post plunge sandwich. So, we are now in year 15 ... I can't believe it! We have made countless memories along the way and all for the greatest cause in the world, Special Olympics Delaware. I look forward to 15 more years and lots of great times. A huge thanks to Kris for getting us started...I can't really thank you enough! Of course, thanks to you, SODE, to making this such a wonderful event for so many! Pete Leida

 

Story added Jan. 3, 2012

The Polar Bear Plunge is one of those things that gets stuck in my mind during class wondering what it is going to be like.  How cold it is going to be? What time will my aunt Elizabeth Nolan (Special Olympics athlete) and I get in the 5K, even though walkers are passing us and we keeping running so that Lizzie can get one of her best times.  

She doesn’t care what time she gets as long as she crosses the finish line. She inspired me to do the Polar bear Plunge because I love her and she makes me happy when I am with her. One of her mottos that she has never said but she shows it is: “You only live once so you might as well have fun!”

I started [plunging] about four years ago and I never had so much fun in my life. This past plunge was the best couple days of my life. I got to spend four days with my grandfather (former Special Olympics Delaware board member and longtime supporter, Dick Nolan) before he passed away unexpectedly the following week. He was the most kind and generous person you would ever meet.  When my aunt, grandma and I went in to the water he would hold our towels and tell us that he will only write checks to the Special Olympics to help benefit instead of going into the freezing cold water in February. This year will be hard not going with him and maybe not as much fun, but we will stick through it and make it the best time of our lives. -- Frankie Jordan

 

 

 

 

 

Questions? Please contact us at info@sode.org  or 302-831-4653