Cold Conditions with Good Intentions: St. Louis Prepares for Annual Polar Plunge at Creve Coeur Lake
Charging. Freezing. Laughing. Splashing. All for one cause. On Saturday, Feb. 25, local communities will come together throughout the nation to raise money for the Special Olympics by participating in the Polar Plunge. People will gather at Creve Coeur Lake, in Maryland Heights for the 11th straight year to participate in this annual fundraiser.
“Last year’s event went really well. We had a little over 900 people that took the plunge at Creve Coeur Lake, and we raised a little over $145,000,” said Jennifer Krumm, the Maryland Heights Plunge coordinator.
In years past, people 10-years and older were allowed to participate. However, now Creve Coeur is letting children 9-years and younger join in the fun too.
“We’re hoping to get a lot of younger individuals involved and taking the plunge so that they can be involved for years to come,” said Krumm, “there are a lot of students that normally participate in the Maryland Heights Polar Plunge, and we figured a lot of them might have younger siblings and relatives. That’s why we decided to incorporate the Pee Wee Plunge this year.”
Participants pay $75 to take the plunge, but the Pee Wee Plunge is only $25. Eighty-five percent of every dollar earned goes directly to program services for people with intellectual disabilities. These services include providing free sports for them year-round, free health screenings at sporting events, and even a program called ALP (Athlete Leadership Program) which teaches them to become leaders in their community.
Sophomore Samantha Atkins said, “I would definitely be interested in doing [the Polar Plunge] to support [Special Olympics Missouri] because my older brother is on the autism spectrum.”
Participants are encouraged to ‘Plunge like there’s no Mañana!’ and wear costumes because, this year, there will be a fiesta theme.
“Chick-fil-a will be coming to pass out free breakfast sandwiches, and Fuzzy’s Tacos is incorporating the fiesta theme by bringing fiesta-themed tacos and passing those out to individuals during registration,” Krumm said, “Raising Canes is one of our partners as well; they came on board this year for the Saint Louis area Polar Plunges. They’re going to be raffling off ‘free chicken for a year’, and they will pull raffle tickets throughout the day.”
Registration opens at 11 a.m. on the morning of Feb. 25 at Creve Coeur Lake, but people may register online ahead of time.
“It’d be for a great cause, and I think it would look kinda bad-a** jumping into the cold water,” said senior Harrison Lacks.
The plunge will begin at 1 p.m. that afternoon. Krumm said “If you’re not plunging, you can still come out and have a great time. There’s also an option on our website this year called ‘Too Chicken to Plunge’ so that you can still donate to some of your family and friends and watch them brave the cold water.”
Participants who raise money will have a chance to win prizes as well.
“Come out and participate,” said Krumm, “It’s going to be a lot of fun!” For more information about the Maryland Heights Polar Plunge, go to
by Sophia Strathman, staff writer