By Jack Brittle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Since 2013, Special Olympics Ontario has raised money for its tournaments through Polar Plunges organized by citizens from all across the province.
For the second year in a row, Burlington has participated in the fundraiser and, this year has set its sights on a $10,000 fundraising goal. So far, the Burlington teams have accumulated over $3000, with the plunge set to take place on February 17 at 10:00 a.m. on Lakeshore Rd.
Denise Nacev, Special Olympics Burlington coach and council member, said that Burlington’s plunge will be slightly different than some other cities.
“There’s not a lot of open water plunges,” Nacev said. “A lot of them are done in pools or containers, whereas we’re going into Lake Ontario.”
Nacev spoke about last year’s plunge.
“Last year was a bit of a challenge because initially, we didn’t have permission from the city,” Nacev said. “But once we talked to the councillors and the mayor, they jumped on board, and it was great. We had the marine unit and the fire department there, we had a lot of great support.”
Last year’s Burlington’s team comprised 20 plungers. Their goal was $7000.
Burlington does their fundraisers in partnership with Paterson’s Karate Works. Part of the proceeds go to sending their team to the World Karate Championships.
Nacev said that the fundraiser is going well so far and that they get most of their donations at the last minute.
“That’s well ahead of where we were this time last year,” Nacev said.
Nacev spoke about how the money helps the organization.
“It goes to support our athletes in the community,” Nacev said. “One of the challenges that our athletes face is many of them are on Ontario Disability [Support Program], which is not a lot of money for them. So, the money goes to keep their registration fees as low as possible.”
Nacev’s son, who has autism, only pays $80 for an entire season of basketball.
“The money also goes to send our teams to tournaments,” Nacev said. “Any money that we raise in Burlington stays in Burlington. We are all volunteers. So, all of the people in the Burlington community Special Olympics, we don’t get paid.”
Nacev got involved with the Special Olympics in 2014 after enrolling her son in the program.
“It gave him an opportunity to compete with his peers,” Nacev said “It really creates a safe place for these individuals to be able to compete against their peers and to have fun playing the game, whatever that game might be.”
To compete in the Special Olympics, you must have an intellectual disability or autism.
Nacev said that the social aspect of the program is also very important.
“Our athletes range from nonverbal to high functioning. We have a real range of athletes because we’re inclusive. We kind of look at it and say, if you are in Burlington and fall within an intellectual disability or autism, you’ll find a place for you to play a sport, to be able to get active.”
The overall goal, incorporating all plunges, is one million dollars, of which over $260,000 has already been raised. Last year Special Olympics Ontario raised $1,030,000 with the same goal.
The Polar Plunge is presented by the Ontario Law Enforcement Torch Run, another fundraiser for the Special Olympics.
Nacev spoke about the awareness that the Polar Plunges provide to the Special Olympics.
“I think it gives more awareness that we’re here and who we are,” Nacev said. “It also gives our athletes that sense of inclusion. We have many athletes who do the plunge and they get so excited because, at the end of the day, they want to be treated like everyone else. And so this is kind of their opportunity to say, it doesn’t matter who I am, what my level of ability is, I can do what everybody else is doing.”
Plungers also have incentives to raise money in the form of incentives such as mittens, which each plunger will receive, blankets and hoodies (for hitting fundraising milestones), and a $1500 Air Canada gift card for the top fundraiser in the province.
Every city’s plunge can be viewed on the Polar Plunge website, along with their fundraising progress. Many are already over 100% of their local fundraising goals.
For more information about the Special Olympics and the Polar Plunge, visit https://polarplunge.ca/.
