For the first time in Chatham-Kent, members of the community and local law enforcement are taking the plunge.
The Chatham-Kent Police Service is organizing the municipality's first ever Polar Plunge, where local residents will raise money to jump into a pool of water in the middle of winter.
"It's a fundraiser that started up a few years ago by some other police services, and we're jumping on board," says Constable Jason Herder, who is helping to organize CK's Polar Plunge. "Having an event like this in Chatham is another reason to bring members of law enforcement, as well as other emergency responding services... together with the community that we serve, and work together for a great cause."
Herder says the CK Police Service is hoping to raise $10,000 for the event, which will all go to benefit Special Olympics Ontario as part of the Law Enforcement Torch Run initiative. He says the money will put towards the games themselves, training programs, accommodations for the athletes, and more.
"Some of my counterparts and friends over at the Windsor Police Service, they've done the Polar Plunge now for three years, and [we] kind of got the nudge from a couple of their officers that organized it," says Herder.
He says that nudge opened the door to "a little friendly competition between the two police services."
The Polar Plunge will be held on January 20 at the St. Clair College Thames Campus, starting at 10am. The pool for the event will be set up outside of the St. Clair College HealthPlex. Change rooms will also be made available to those participating.
A number of prizes are also being made available to those participating, which include merchandise, as well as tickets to MLB and NHL sporting events. For details click here.
Anyone interested in donating to the event, or any group that is willing to be a corporate sponsor, is encouraged to visit the Polar Plunge website. Those who want to register can also do so online.