BUFFALO, N.Y. — Many people over the past two days took a cold dip into Lake Erie, in an effort to raise money for the Special Olympics.
More than 1,000 people braved the cold water in Lake Erie Saturday. The annual Buffalo Polar Plunge is the largest polar plunge in the state, raising more than $500,000 this year for the Special Olympics; they were hoping to raise $450,000.
"We have about 15 athletes that are going to be plunging with us, so they're gonna lead the parade to plunge because this is why we are plunging, this is who we are plunging for," Erica Raepple, senior director of development for Special Olympics, told 2 On Your Side.
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"So its so important for us to connect the community with our athletes, so they know they're plunging with Amy, and Reed, and Hailey, and Julia, so they understand it is not just, 'Hey, take my money.' It is more, 'This is the person I'm supporting, this is my why."
Raepple said this was the warmest polar plunge to date, with the lake at 48 degrees.
About 800 students representing 21 Western New York schools got the event started on Friday afternoon, when they ran into a freezing-cold Lake Erie.
That event, called the Cool School Polar Plunge, raised $150,000.
Special Olympics New York hosts 20 different polar plunges across the state. Last year's Buffalo Polar Plunge included more than 1,200 people and raised roughly $447,000.
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