(HELENA) The Helena Police Department is putting out a call for people to take part in the annual Sweetheart Passion Plunge, to benefit Special Olympics Montana.
“We’re always trying to get the word out to get as many people as we can: challenging your friends, challenging family, getting teams together through work and getting everybody we can out to support the athletes,” said HPD Officer Eric Koester.
The Plunge will be held Saturday, Feb. 9, at noon, at Spring Meadow Lake State Park. This will be the 19th year of the event, which is organized by members of the local Law Enforcement Torch Run.
Organizers are encouraging people to start putting together teams to raise money and jump into the cold water.
“If you don’t want to jump, you can always come down and just watch, support, make a donation to Special Olympics,” Koester said.
Last year, more than 100 people took part in the Plunge. They raised more than $30,000 to support local Special Olympics athletes.
“We’re taking a pretty big leap,” said Koester. “Helena’s a very generous community, so we’re going to try to raise as much as we can for the athletes.”
More than 3,000 athletes from across Montana take part in Special Olympics competitions.
“It really comes down to the athletes,” Koester said. “They are the reason for this. They’re out there doing their thing and having a great time. We like supporting them, they like seeing us out there, so we love to do what we can to raise some funds for our local athletes.”
If you’re interested in participating in the Sweetheart Passion Plunge, you can find information on how to register here.
-Jonathon Ambarian reporting for MTN News
