Shelburne Polar Plunge raises big bucks for Special Olympics

Written By BRIAN LOCKHART

If you are someone who participated in the Polar Plunge for Special Olympics recently at Fiddle Park in Shelburne, you will be happy to hear the final tally raised will be around $44,000.

Whether you actually took a dip in the freezing water, sponsored someone, or just came out to participate, the effort sponsored by the Shelburne Police Service will go along way to help the cause.

“The funds raised go to Special Olympics Ontario,” explained Polar Plunge organizer, Shelburne Police Constable Jeff McLean. “This is the third year it has taken place. This year there were 70 swimmers. Domino's was one of our main sponsors. On the day of the event they donated 50 per cent of their sales to the event. The Law Enforcement Torch Run is a police initiative that supports the Special Olympics and it is the charity of choice for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police. In Ontario there are 26,000 special Olympians and these funds go to support them.”

While some people found sponsors to jump into the pool of ice cold water, others participated in other ways.

Domino's Pizza in Shelburne donated half of their sales from the day to the cause.

The Shelburne Domino's location has been a generous sponsor for several local events.

“This is our third year doing the event for the Shelburne police and Special Olympics,” explained Domino's franchise owner, Rishi Kakar. “This time around we managed to raise the most we've every raised for any fund raiser - $1,892. We gave away 50 per cent of our sales for that day.”

Many people from the Polar Plunge heard about the Domino's event and made their way to the pizzeria afterwards to buy a pizza for dinner.

The Special Olympics helps enrich the lives of Canadians of all ages with an intellectual disability through sports.