Why don't you just go jump in a lake! No, really! That's what over two hundred people in my little community did on a very cold Saturday in February. It was the 14th Annual Polar Bear Jump at Goodyear Lake in upstate New York.
The ripples aren't just from the belly flops. This bone chilling, heart warming event began quite modestly with 11 jumpers who wanted to do something to help a sick little girl. Brenda and Jamie Waters had been to a Polar Bear jump on the St Lawrence the year before and thought, why can't we do that here? Ripple #1! Everyone had a great time at the first event and word spread.
Every year since then, it has gotten larger and they are now helping out more and more families. The spirit is still very hometown, and all the money raised still goes to help others out. Young and old and even entire families get involved.
Others in the community have seen the good that can be done when we all come together and have been inspired to start raising funds for causes near and dear to them. It's that ripple effect at work! There is no way to tell how many people, participants as well as recipients, have been positively affected by Brenda and Jamie's thought "Why can't we do that here?"
So, if you have ever thought, "What a wonderful idea! We should do something like that." just do it!
For more information please visit their website at http://pbjump.com/index.html where you can find out more about the event and recipients like the little bit of sunshine in the above picture. They lost their site right before the event and are under construction, but there are some great photos there guaranteed to make you shiver!
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