10 to slide at Polar Bear Plunge
Published 12:00 pm Tuesday, December 24, 2024
- Becky Taylor/The Tifton Gazette 2024 Polar Bear Plunge winner Sam Wright came down the slide in a hot dog costume. Though Wright won’t be participating in the 2025 Polar Bear Plunge, there will be 10 individuals sliding for charity at the Tiftarea YMCA pool.
TIFTON – 2025 rings in Wednesday, Jan. 1, with a Tifton tradition: the Polar Bear Plunge. Ten people are expected to slide at the Tiftarea YMCA pool at 11 a.m., raising money for local charities and organizations.
“It’s what I love about the Y,” said Y CEO Jason Bishoff. “We can be a catalyst.” The Polar Bear Plunge has been going for more than a decade, benefiting a wide variety of local groups.
Those wishing for temperatures more akin to polar bears, there is a chance of that. “It’s going to be a cold Polar Bear Plunge,” Bishoff said. The current Weather Channel prediction for New Year’s Day is a high of 65 degrees with partially cloudy skies. Bishoff assures there will be hot chocolate available.
The list of plungers this year is a mix of veterans and rookies. Bishoff credits the Y’s Lauren Stone for helping bring in the newcomers. Plungers, and the organizations they will be representing, are:
DeAnn Benefield (Hospice of Tift County), Cruz Chambless (Called to Care), Russ Flowers (Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence), Davis Garner (Dream Center), David Pollock (YMCA pickleball), Josh Pridemore (Tift County Commission on Children & Youth), Tom Shoup (Kiwanis Club), Dr. Mac Sims (Simply Grace Rescue), Sam Skaggs (Alzheimer’s Association) and Dr. Bret Wagenhorst (Meals on Wheels).
“Nice to see some young ones,” said Bishoff.
Wagenhorst is a previous winner, doing so in 2020.
Every year, the event seems to get more popular. In 2024, the Polar Bear Plunge raised $15,530, surpassing the $14,543 set in 2020. Sam Wright, who took the slide for Brother Charlie’s Rescue Center, raised $8,750, smashing the previous record, set by Wagenhorst.
The Plunge’s top earner gets 100% of money raised. Everyone else goes 50/50 with the Tiftarea YMCA. There is one big condition – the Plunger (or a representative) has to make the slide. Otherwise, the charity gets 25% of the funds.
Bishoff said the deadline for donations is Dec. 29th. There are several ways to give – in person at the Tiftarea YMCA on Carpenter Road, via the Y’s website (tiftareaymca.org/polar-bear-plunge/), or via a QR code on the Tiftarea YMCA’s Facebook page.