The chilly temperatures did not deter the Silver Creek/Forestville Polar Plunge team from heading to Woodlawn Beach for their sixth year participating in the Special Olympics Polar Plunge. 

The Silver Creek/ Forestville Polar Plunge team started in 2020 with only nine participants, but this year, 64 people participated in the fundraising event, making it the largest team in the group’s history, many participating for the first time!

Just as the Silver Creek/Forestville team has grown, what started as a one-day event has grown so much that the plunge was held over three days this year, with four separate plunges. Two of the plunges occurred on December 5, with students and staff from local schools only. Thirty-two schools participated in the Cool School Challenge this year. Each school competed to be the school that raised the most money.

“For me as a parent, the Polar Plunge teaches kids unity, inclusion, courage, and resilience. It shows our school coming together as one, supporting one another,” Sarah Pfleuger, a parent of a Unified athlete, said.

The water was 43 degrees, and the air temperature was 29 degrees, but the group still paraded into the water to show their support for the Special Olympics. 

“I am slowly getting warmer, but my heart is full,” Brenda Kerstetter, the Unified Liaison-Coach for Forestville, said after taking the plunge.

Each year, the Silver Creek and Forestville students have participated in the plunge, and they were a Top Ten Fundraising School, and this year was no different.  The team came in fifth place overall in the Cool School Challenge and was once again the top fundraising school for Chautauqua County. 

“Each year, we strive to raise more than the last year. Even though we are two small schools, combined, we are still smaller than other schools in the area. The fact that we can raise over $13,000 in the past two years and over $50,000 in the past six years, just shows the heart of the students, staff and community from our districts to support our students and Special Olympics New York,” Janet Decker, Silver Creek’s Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) advisor and Unified Coach pointed out.

Claire Gonzalez, a sophomore at Silver Creek, YAC member and Unified Basketball player, participated in the plunge for the third time this year.  When asked why she plunges, Claire stated, “The Polar Plunge is a way for me to support Special Olympics and to show we are stronger together as one.  It’s a fun way for our school community to show our support for inclusion.”

Claire isn’t the only student participating for multiple years. Ali Kerstetter, a sophomore at Forestville and a member of the Unified Bowling and Basketball teams, also participated in her fourth plunge this year. When asked why she continues to participate in the Polar Plunge, Ali stated, “I have always enjoyed helping people, seeing the smiles on the other kids’ faces, and knowing I made a difference just warms my heart.”

The Cool School Challenge raised, in total, $249,731 for Special Olympics New York.  Over the course of the three days, nearly $700,000 was raised to support students, athletes, and Unified programs.