Hood River Dives into First Polar Plunge for Special Olympics
The Dalles, Ore. February 25, 2024 — This weekend, Hood River did something pretty cool — literally. For the first time, many folks took the Polar Plunge into the Columbia River, to raise over $6,500 for the Special Olympics. It was all hands on deck, with the local program coordinator leading the charge, getting everyone excited to dive into the freezing water for a great reason.
Shoutout to Stokes Coffee and Beneventi's Pizza for keeping everyone warm and fed with free coffee and pizza. “The support from everyone was just amazing,” said Naomi Grimsley, the program coordinator. “We're already pumped to do it again next year and make it even bigger.”
Every penny raised is going straight to helping local Special Olympics athletes with their training and competitions. It's about giving them a chance to shine and showing them the whole community behind them.
From folks who swim all the time to those who've never plunged like this before, everyone came together, jumping into the cold for something that matters. Wrapped in a towel, sipping on some hot coffee afterward, one plunger put it simply: “It's a bit crazy, jumping into cold water on purpose. But if it helps, count me in any day.”
Looking forward, Hood River's set on making the Polar Plunge a yearly thing. This year's splash was a big win, showing just how much good we can do when we all jump in together.
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