On Saturday January 31, 35 Liberty North students, along with hundreds of other people from the Kansas City area participated in the Polar Plunge. The Polar Plunge is a fundraiser that benefits Special Olympics athletes in Missouri.

“Polar Plunge is when we raise money for Special Olympics Missouri. Once you raise $75 you get the chance to go to Longview Lake, get together with your group and run into the freezing cold water. It’s really fun and it’s for a good cause,” junior Nina Zepeda said.

Student Council organizes a Liberty North team to participate in the plunge. This is the first year Student Council has reached out to the student body to try and get more participants. The LNHS Polar Plunge team had 35 members and raised over $2,700.

“As a student council we are a part of the bigger organization of Missouri Association of Student Councils. The organization that we often raise money for is Special Olympics. So Polar Plunge gives us an opportunity to raise more money,” junior Maddy Mattson said.

The students involved have been raising money since before winter break. They have advertised, and asked for donations from many people within the school and the community.

“The process for planning Polar Plunge is very long. We started with promoting the event and trying to get people involved. Then we had meetings with all the participants, and with the Special Olympics representatives,” senior Dylan McCloskey said.

Along with plunging into a freezing lake, there is also a costume contest for the participating groups. This year the Liberty North team won the Golden Plunger, for first place in the costume contest.

“We all dressed up as cows and farmers. When we went in front of the judges the farmers herded the cows, and then the farmers started tipping the cows. People thought it was creative and funny,” junior Luke Kernell said.

Polar Plunge is an opportunity to raise money for an extremely important cause. Running into a freezing lake is just a small privilege the participants get.

My favorite part of the plunge is going into the freezing cold water. I like to dive under. I love hitting the water, and realizing how cold it actually is,” junior Daniel Hart said.

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