Dozens jump in Finger Lake to help their neighbors

Sometimes it’s best to go jump in the lake.

Since we first began covering the Mat-Su Polar Plunge in December 2004 when 20 brave jumpers plunged into Lake Lucille, organizers estimate more than $50,000 has been raised for local non-profits such as Special Olympics, Mat-Su Health Services and Mat-Su Sertoma.

Last year alone this hearty crop of frosty do-gooders collected more than $15,000 to benefit Wasilla Area Seniors Inc., Mat Su Health Services and Mat-Su Sertoma.

Although pledges for this year are still being tallied, grant recipients have already been announced as Turn a Leaf and Food Pantry of Wasilla — in addition to the Mat-Su Sertoma Club.

This is the second year since Sertoma, a nonprofit that helps people with hearing issues and helps educate the public on issues surrounding hearing health, took over organizing the fund-raiser.

Donations are way up this year. Preliminary totals for this year alone are at nearly $30,000, according to organizers.

It’s one of a growing assortment of the Mat-Su Valley’s annual fund-raisers and unique winter community events — like Special Santa and Boxes for Heroes, Winter Family Fun Day at the Palmer Hay Flats Reflection Lake, the Iron Dog race start, the Willow restart of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and the State Winter Carnival in Willow.

While the goal, ultimately, is to raise money that stays here in the Valley, the plunge is simply a boatload of fun. Covering this event, which makes most onlookers cringe and cheer at the same time, is one of the highlights of winter for Frontiersman staff. The plunge is more than a lark for those who score a few points shy of normal on the sanity meter. It’s a spectacle.

The run from the clubhouse to the lake, the colorful (and sometimes even truthful) commentary and the look on the faces of the plungers as they hit the water is a don’t-miss experience.

The fact that participants are encouraged to dress in whatever crazy costumes they can come up with is a bonus, too. If you missed yesterday’s plunge, read about it in today’s Valley Life section and visit online, frontiersman.com, for coverage and a video accessed through a QR code in today’s newspaper (see page 1 and Valley Life for an explanation of what a QR code is and how to use it).

Far from being hampered by the dark, cold days of winter, Alaskans seem to thrive. When several inches of fresh snow falls, the roadsides and trails come alive with skiers and snowmachiners.

While it’s February in Alaska and the lake water was freezing cold, the Mat-Su Polar Plunge continues to be one of the warmest community events in the Valley. It’s a great family event, and we’re pleased to see it grow again this year.

If the spectacle still isn’t enough to get you out of the house and onto the lake, the homemade chili and hot chocolate can’t be beat.

And what could be more Alaskan than people shedding perfectly good winter clothing to plunge through a hole in a frozen lake to raise money for several good causes?

We love this event because it shows that we’ll go to great lengths — and even risk frostbite — to help our neighbors.