Burlington Takes the Plunge to Support the Special Olympics VT

Grab your swimsuits and get ready for the cold! During the 15th annual Burlington Penguin Plunge, approximately 1000 brave souls will jump into the icy waters of Lake Champlain on Saturday morning, February 6th, at the Burlington Waterfront in order to raise money for the Special Olympics VT (SOVT). The plungers—a combination of SOVT athletes and their supporters—have been working hard to raise enough money to meet their individual fundraising goals. Participants are able to register online and create a fundraising page on the SOVT website where they can get the word out to possible donors through word of mouth, email, and Facebook. Each participant must pay a $25 registration fee and raise $150 minimum. Participants and donors also have the option of joining a fundraising team. The top fundraising teams include the Burlington Rugby Team and Browns River Middle School, having raised over $8000 and over $6000 respectively. Prize incentives, such as Penguin Plunge vests, hats, and jackets, are awarded to fundraisers as they hit certain benchmarks. The mission of SOVT, displayed on their home page, is to "provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendships with their families, other SOVT athletes and the community." The non-profit organization also holds Penguin Plunges in Bennington and Newport, VT. The money raised will go towards training and putting on various sports events for the SOVT athletes to participate in. Since holding its first Burlington Penguin Plunge in 1996, participation has grown ever year. "This year, we are expecting to break our record for number of individuals taking the Plunge. Last year on January 31st we had 557 people registered online to take the Plunge," Kimberly Bookless, SOVT's Fundraising Events Manager explained. "On the same date this year, we had over 790 registered to plunge! This does not include a number of paper registrations we've received or online registrations since. We hope to reach 1,100 plungers!" SOVT also displayed their dedication to helping the environment by cutting down on waste when planning the 2010 Plunge. "This year, we've switched to an online incentive system to reduce our waste; only those incentives which are needed will be ordered," Bookless added. Several local restaurants are getting involved by holding Penguin Plunge Days. Diners can bring in a coupon, found on the SOVT website, to Texas Roadhouse, in Williston, VT, on February 8th from 4:00 to 10:00pm and 10% of their bill will be donated to the SOVT. Similarly, between 11:00am and 10:00pm on February 3rd, 10% of all sales made at Mexicala Grill and Cantina, also in Williston, donated to the cause. In addition, Texas Roadhouse and downtown Burlington's Bueno y Sano are rewarding the first 1000 people to check-in on Saturday with gift certificates. The New England Culinary Institute (NECI) is also getting involved this year by hosting the "Chili Throwdown 2010" at the Waterfront the day of the Plunge. The culinary school, based out of Montpelier, VT, is returning to the SOVT event for the first time in years. "We had done this years ago and we decided to revive it. It's an exciting opportunity for the students," Jennifer Livingston, the NECI Student Programs Coordinator shared during a phone interview from her office on the NECI campus. "I have always had friends who have done the plunge and I'm doing it this year. I just think it's a great opportunity to help fundraise for the Special Olympics." The NECI students that submitted the top six recipes will compete in the Throwdown from 9:00am to 2:00pm at the Penguin Plunge on Saturday. Four judges, including Judy Simpson, news anchor and producer of WACX Channel 3 News Daybreak, will taste and critique the chili based on aroma, consistency, color, taste, and aftertaste. Members of the public and participants looking to warm up have the option of paying one dollar to sample the chili. All of the proceeds go to SOVT. "We are just really excited to be able to meet people and have more people become aware of what NECI does, and to have a nice, fun day," Livingston continued. According to Bookless, the North Bennington Penguin Plunge, which took place last Saturday, January 30th, saw a 30 person increase in participants and raised over double what they raised in 2009 for a total of $14,861. "We are hoping for the same success with the Burlington Plunge!” Jackie Stickley