Freezing plunge raises funds for Special Olympics

Date: 3/22/2022

WESTFIELD – Dozens of people braved the winds and frigid waters on March 13 to benefit the Special Olympics athletes of Massachusetts in the second annual Western Massachusetts Law Enforcement Torch Run Polar Plunge.

More than 100 people rushed the waters of Hampton Ponds State Park and splashed around on a sunny, frigid day in Westfield. The fundraising event raised more than $40,000 to support Special Olympics athletes. Through all of the Polar Plunge events across Massachusetts, $533,027 had been raised toward the goal of $575,000, with three events to go in Harwich, Littleton and Ware.

One plunger, Lynn McCarthy, said that she coaches Special Olympics basketball players in West Springfield. She said she and her teams still need funding for busing and uniforms for the events. For the athletes, and special needs children in general, McCarthy said the last two years of the pandemic have been especially hard on them, and that the return to in-person Olympic events will be a welcome relief for all of them.

“It’s all about the kids and the athletes, and getting them involved. Doing things to keep their outlets going and their mental health in check,” said McCarthy.
It was her first time participating in such an event. During the mad rush into the water, she said she went up to her waist. Fifteen minutes after the plunge was over, she said her legs were still numb.

Another plunger, Hannah Yeasley, participated with a team from Westwood Restaurant and Pub in Westfield. She recently moved to Massachusetts from California, and said she is not used to weather as cold as it is here.

“I wanted to do new things, and this is one of them,” said Yeasley.

She said she was the waitress one day for Erica Ireland, a West Springfield police officer who is heavily involved in organizing the Western Massachusetts leg of the Polar Plunge. Ireland told Yeasley about it, who then got some of her coworkers to join her in the cold waters of Hampton Ponds.

“This is my first winter, and first cold lake,” said Yeasley.

It was the second time the Special Olympics Polar Plunge came to Westfield, the first being just before the pandemic in 2020. The event was canceled in 2021.