Get brrr-ready for 20th Polar Plunge

By Devorah Ben-David
Correspondent

When people say they're "going for a dip" in the wintertime, it's generally into a hot tub. But not when freezing February comes around and "polar bears" begin to gather at the Oceanfront.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Polar Plunge Winter Festival to benefit Special Olympics Virginia. According to Wendie Whitaker, captain and founder of the Raven Cocktail Coolers, even kids (10 and under) will be out filling a 25-inch deep kiddie pool with ice cubes and rubber ducks to show their support for this very cool cause.

The Raven Cocktail Coolers got its name when Whitaker made a bet at the Raven Restaurant using a cocktail napkin. If she could find the funding, her friends agreed to walk down the Boardwalk - and into the Atlantic Ocean - on Polar Plunge Day.

The Ravens raised $800 in 2001. As of last week, they had generated $4,400 in donations, Whitaker said.

Special Olympics Virginia is a year-round program of sports training and athletic competitions for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

"Everyone on my team works hard to bring awareness to others in this mission to open hearts and change minds about people with intellectual disabilities," Whitaker said.

Raven Cocktail Cooler member Carl Warren, who is a professional chef and avid scuba diver, has his own team of five, fun-loving friends waiting to hand him warm towels and clothes back on shore.

Warren's friend Debbie Joseph, a former Raven employee, drives from Annapolis to be part of his towel crew - "but the hardest part is standing on the cold sand, waiting to actually jump in," Warren said.

Polar Plunge Day has become such an institution that loyal Raven Cocktail Cooler Jeff Seiler, who moved to Iceland in 2010, plans to simultaneously make his bone-chilling plunge in the bay at the local beach by Reykjavik Airport.

Ricky and Bobby Dunnington, who own the Raven Restaurant and sponsor the Raven Cocktail Coolers, talked Seiler into taking his first Polar plunge, he said.

"What touches my heart is that you're doing something fun and easy to do, while bringing hope, fun and so much more to those who truly deserve it," Seiler said.

At last check, there were 427 teams who had signed up to take the plunge - 2,054 individuals. Another 410 runners have registered for the Plunge's 5K. More than 3,200 people are expected to participate in the event, Whitaker said.

The Polar Plunge event is considered a time-honored tradition at the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office. Their team, the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office Plungers, received $2,500 from Sheriff Stolle's Community Fund and $2,500 from Pungo's Strawberry Festival Community Fund, according to Captain Linda Richie of the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office.

Sean Jimenez said being a Raven team member is one way to celebrate his love of living in Virginia Beach.

"This important event gives us all a chance to give back to others, who deserve a good life too," Jimenez said.

Devorah Ben-David, DBDRIC@aol.com