Over 75 fearless and fun-loving souls, braved the cold waters of Anthony Creek on Saturday, March 5 to raise awareness about child abuse as the 13th Annual Greenbrier Valley Polar Bear Plunge Club convened for its yearly meeting in the Monongahela National Forest.
Club members raised over $12,000 for the Child and Youth Advocacy Center of Lewisburg. As always, 100% of the proceeds benefited the 501-c-3, non-profit organization that interviews and counsels sexually abused children in Greenbrier, Monroe, and Pocahontas counties, so that offenders may be prosecuted.
The top fundraisers this year were Ann Weikle, of Salt Sulphur Springs ($1,100); Tammie Smith, of Alderson ($843) and Jay Bowling, of White Sulphur Springs ($510.)
Kimberly Gross, special representative to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, spoke words of encouragement to the plungers before their big splash. "People from all over the state talk about this Polar Bear Plunge event. It's something to really be proud of." Gross became a Polar Bear member in 2013. Previously, Tomblin has called the event a "special West Virginia tradition. The event has been also named a "Southeastern Tourism Top 20 Event."
The "Spirit of Polar Bear" award was given to CYAC Executive Director Katherine Thompson by Polar Bear Club President Christian Giggenbach. Giggenbach began plunging in Anthony Creek 13 years ago to honor his late mother, Kay Sweet Giggenbach. In 2008, he asked the CYAC to become the fundraising arm for his club. His polar bear club now has about 350 members and has in total raised nearly $75,000 for the CYAC.
WVVA News again served as the event’s media sponsor, the food vendor was When Pigs Fly, entertainment was provided by the Half Bad Bluegrass Band, and Penny the D.J. served as the M.C. of the event. CLB Security, of Lewisburg, was there to man the entrance gates and help with parking,and ease traffic flow and congestion.
Special thanks goes out to U.S. Forest Service, the Greenbrier County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, Lewisburg Boy Scout Troop 70 and Phoenix Steele for their help in staging the event.
"The outpouring of support for our mission to end child abuse can plainly be see here at Blue Bend," Katherine Thompson, CYAC executive director, said. "We truly appreciate all of our sponsors, plungers and all of the volunteer event staff that helped make this event successful again.."
Do you want to join the club? For more information, contact the CYAC at 304-645-4668 or visit Greenbrier Valley Polar Bear Club FB Page.
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Buying or selling a home in Lewisburg, WV or surrounding area, contact Rebecca at 304-520-2133, and please check out my website at LewisburgWV and Greenbrier County RealEstate
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