There’s still time for you to be Freezin’ for a Reason at one of the two remaining Polar Plunges in, La Crosse or Milwaukee. Be sure to check out SpecialOlympicsWisconsin.org (LINK) so your team can pick a date and location to get registered to support the 10,000 Special Olympics athletes throughout the state!

Does this weather have you feeling like spring is on the way? Why not take a dip early this season at the Special Olympics Wisconsin Polar Plunge®! The 2012 Polar Plunge season is well underway, but if you still haven’t registered yet, don’t worry! There are eight more Polar Plunge events taking place across the state this year, from the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan.

February is here, and that means its time for the 2012 Polar Plunge® winter fundraiser! Be a Below Zero Hero by leaping into icy bodies of water across the state and raise money for nearly 10,000 Special Olympics Wisconsin (SOWI) athletes.

Plungers consist of individuals and teams of students, law enforcement officers, business professionals and families.  Everyone is welcome! Too chicken to plunge? No Problem! Register as 'too chicken to plunge' and you can raise funds and stay dry.

Across the state, thousands of warm-hearted leaped into frozen bodies of water to support the 10,000 athletes of Special Olympics Wisconsin by taking part in the 2011 Polar Plunge® winter fundraiser. Since 1999, nearly 70,000 brave souls have raised more than $12 million by jumping into Wisconsin’s frigid lakes and rivers, enabling athletes with cognitive disabilities to train and compete in 18 different Olympic-type sports.

As they watch hundreds of snowflakes dance across the sky and frost the frozen lake with a snowy icing, the ice fishermen at Miller's Bay savor the tranquility of their sport. But for one special day each winter, they move their shanties aside, let shrieks of laughter shatter the silence, and watch thousands of thrill-seekers join the fish in the frigid waters for the Oshkosh Polar Plunge for Special Olympics Wisconsin.

3/8/11 - Update

Statewide Results

In 2011, The Polar Plunge for Special Olympics Wisconsin was held in 12 cities. This year, about 9,320 participants helped raise nearly $1.9 million for local Special Olympics athletes. Learn more about the Polar Plunge for Special Olympics Wisconsin

Milwaukee Polar Plunge - 3/5/11

During this year's event, 305 Plungers helped raise about $72,000 for Special Olympics Wisconsin.

The first Polar Plunge of the season, the Wisconsin Rapids Polar Plunge takes place this Saturday, February 5th, at the Grand Rapids Lions Club. Good luck Polar Plungers!

Learn more about the Polar Plunge for Special Olympics Wisconsin

While many local families bundle up in cozy scarves and woolly mittens before stepping outside to brace the blustery winter air, hundreds of others across the state are leaping into the frigid waters of Wisconsin.

Do you shiver at the thought of icy cold water? Sign up as a chicken! You can observe the chaos while sipping hot cocoa, warmed by the knowledge that your donation helped give Special Olympics athletes across the state the chance to participate in 18 year-round sports.
 

Rappel down a skyscraper? How far would you go to support your favorite cause? These days, taking a fundraising risk involves more than cooking up a new recipe for the local bake sale. Supporters are upping the ante with a new wave of intense, off-the-wall, money-making techniques that not only make you check your health insurance policy, but also force donors to open their checkbooks and empty their wallets. It's called extreme fundraising...and 21-year-old Wisconsin Rapids native, Ben Holberg just joined the ranks.
 

As a 25-year-old woman saunters across the beach in a bikini top, skater shorts, and blonde-braided pig tails, hundreds of spectators admire the near-dozen artistically painted tattoos that camouflage her fair skin, not only because of their intricate design but also because of their significance. At 36 degrees Fahrenheit, this is not your typical day at the lake and Amy Matsick, who is airbrushed from head to toe with corporate logos, is not your average beach bum.