Staff
With less than a month to go until the annual “Polar Plunge” on New Year’s Day, the Fort Frances Voyageur Lions Club is reminding folks to pick up registration forms and collect pledges over the next few weeks.
Club member Jim Martindale said organizers have been working hard to get everything in place.
“We’re working on it,” he noted. “It looks good so far, but we have the same scenario where a number of people get sheets but we don’t know exactly how well that [registration] is going” until the day of the jump.
Martindale said groups are asked to submit preliminary information by Dec. 15 to facilitate organization on the actual day of the jump, and also so that names of groups can be used in promotion—both for the group to collect pledges and for the Voyageur Lions to challenge others.
He added the club is hoping to make this year’s event the biggest one yet.
“I am optimistic. We had 58 jumpers last year, and I am hoping we have 75 this year,” Martindale remarked, noting that while the 2009 event did not raise the most money, it did have more participants than ever before.
“I think we will have a lot of jumpers this year, and I am hoping they’re going to raise the money,” he noted. “We just have to wait and see.
“I know with things being a little tighter, it’s harder to get money. . . .
“That could be a factor, but I don’t think it will be too much of an issue.”
Those who have registered so far are gung-ho. For example, the Fort Frances High School Sports Association has issued a challenge to its athletes in hopes of earning a $500 bonus for the most funds raised by a group.
Some of the other groups and businesses that have come aboard include the Fort Frances Aquanauts, Fort Frances Squash Club, Dancemakers, St. Mary’s Youth Group, Fort Frances High School Art Trip Fund (headed by sometime ice fisherman Owen Johnson), and La Place Rendez-Vous.
As for individuals, newcomers Lana Acorn and Ron Cameron will join “Polar Plunge” mainstays such as local MP John Rafferty (jumping for Special Olympics), Dale Gill, Bill Michl, Maureen Hahkala, Jillian Gustafson, Coun. Andrew Hallikas, and Martindale himself.
For those wanting to “take the plunge,” pledge sheets are available at the Edward Jones office on Scott Street and La Place Rendez-Vous. Packages for groups also are available by calling Martindale at 274-7829.
The “Polar Plunge” has been sponsored by the Fort Frances Voyageur Lions club for nine years. During that time, more than $60,000 has been returned to community youth groups and charities.
Each year, pledged “plungers” jump into a hole in the ice on Sand Bay on Jan. 1. Participating groups receive half of the net proceeds raised by member jumpers while those interested in jumping as individuals raise funds for the Voyageur Lions.
The club’s main focus is helping children and youth, but one specific project for which it currently is fundraising is vision-assisted equipment for the new Fort Frances Public Library and Technology Centre.
Last January’s “Polar Plunge” raised $14,000, with organizers hoping to up that total to $20,000 this time around.
Every participant receives a T-shirt. A number of prizes also will be up for grabs that day, including individual prizes, best costume prizes, and that $500 incentive for the group that raises the most money.
For more information, contact the Edward Jones office (274-9425), or call Jim or Val Martindale at 274-7829.
