Students, faculty bravely take the ‘Polar Plunge’ to benefit NY Special Olympics
Showing all smiles, before their dip into wintery cold water at the 2023 Buffalo Polar Plunge, are (from left): Haley Fenik, Savannah Salim, Dr. Janeil Rey, Alexis Adamski, Holly Rohrbach, Dr. Michael Jabot, Alexandrea Simmons, Kennedy Neckers and McKenzie Lohmer.
An intrepid team of SUNY Fredonia students and professors did what most of us would never do – jump into a Western New York lake in late December – by joining the 2023 Buffalo Polar Plunge to raise money for the New York Special Olympics.
“It was super fun! We grew and had a bonding experience with our peers and professors and we raised money for a great cause,” reports Kennedy Neckers, a senior from Livonia, NY, majoring in Early Childhood and Childhood Education.
A lot of money!
The Fredonia Future Teachers Polar Plunge team raised a hefty $1,165 from 37 donors, easily topping their $1,000 goal. Pledges by fellow students, faculty and family members ranged from $15 to $125.
This group of fearless Fredonians was among hundreds of teams from high schools and colleges, along with teams of first responders as well as corporate and community groups, who summoned the courage needed to leap into the chilly water – enduring what probably felt like an agonizing long 1-1/2 to 2 minutes – at Woodlawn Beach State Park, near Buffalo, NY, on Saturday, Dec. 2.
It was super fun! We grew and had a bonding experience with our peers and professors and we raised money for a great cause.” - Kennedy Neckers
Fortunately for everyone, it turned out to be an unseasonably mild day for December, with air and water temperatures in the low 40s. “They said it was one of the warmest (Polar Plunges) to date, but it was still very cold,” countered Ms. Neckers.
Student participants – members of the Teacher Education Club or Council for Exceptional Children, both campus groups – were McKenzie Lohmer, Alexandrea Simmons, Alexis Adamski, Savannah Salim, Holly Rohrbach, Haley Fenik and Neckers. Valiantly taking the plunge with them were College of Education, Health Sciences, and Human Services Dean Janeil Rey and SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Michael Jabot.
Storybook characters were the theme of their handmade costumes and included the Very Hungry Caterpillar, Cat in the Hat and Pete the Cat, among others. “They were warm before we got in the water, but not so much after,” remarked Neckers, president of the Council for Exceptional Children. She and Ms. Simmons were at the helm of the SUNY Fredonia team, serving as co-captains.
“I think it went very well,” Simmons notes. “I was a little concerned because none of us in the group had ever done this event, so it helped to have a group so we could figure out where to go, how to set up,” she explained.
Simmons, a senior from Springville, NY, majoring in Early Childhood and Childhood Education, wasn’t too sure how the plunge would be received when she introduced it as a project for the student groups to undertake. “I was afraid that it wasn’t going to pan out, so I was definitely happy with the amount of people we had.”
Each member of the Fredonia team was rewarded with a 2022-2023 Polar Plunge sweatshirt to remember the event.
Neckers and Simmons thank everyone who donated, as well as everyone who took the plunge, and hope SUNY Fredonia will assemble another team for next year’s plunge.
The idea to do the Polar Plunge arose from a Youth Activation Committee conference held on campus last fall. The group is part of Unified Sports, an official organization of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association that joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team.
