Chill out. You got this.

2017 Polar Plunge Festival - 25th Anniversary

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Chill out. You got this.

The Polar Plunge® Festival is Special Olympics Virginia’s premier, annual fundraising drive for those brrrr-ave enough to take the challenge! Participants ‒ or “plungers” ‒ raise funds to get wild and plunge into icy water at four different locations across Virginia in February and now June!

It’s the coolest event in VA ‒ literally ‒ and it’s all for an amazing cause! All proceeds help Special Olympics Virginia provide year-round training and services for thousands of athletes.

Want to keep your toes in the sand? Sign up to volunteer at any of our event locations.

Where Do the Funds Go?

Polar Plunge® is so much more than just an icy dip in the water. The funds raised at each plunge event help Special Olympics Virginia provide year-round sports training, competition, leadership opportunities, and health services to more than 21,000 athletes of all abilities.

Our goal is to create a world where every single person is accepted and welcomed. Together, we are helping to make the world a better, healthier, and more joyful place — one athlete, one volunteer, one family member and one plunger at a time.

Plunger Tools

We’re so grateful you want to help us raise money for athletes across Virginia, so we’ve developed a few resources to help make fundraising a breeze!

Whether you’re a corporate sponsor, a team captain, or an individual plunger, these resources should have you covered.

Classy FAQ

Tips and tricks to manage your fundraising page, plus offline donation details

Plunge Poster

A poster to promote the Plunge, with room to add some written text after you print it

Sample Email

Sample email text you can use, as well as a few tips

Social Media Posts

A few sample social media posts to use, as well as a some best practices

Fundraising Tips

A step-by-step guide to raising funds after you create your Plunge fundraising page

Fundraising Infographic

A visual description showing how your donors’ contributions directly help our athletes

Donor Receipt

A printable receipt to give donors for their personal and corporate records

Plunger “Sick Note”

A fun, absentee email for your friends or colleagues to let people know you’re taking the plunge

Paper Charity Pinup

Print out charity pinups for you and your team to sell and raise additional funds

Business Card

Print business cards with your Plunge fundraising page URL and hand them out to donors

Email Signature

Link this graphic to your donation page and include it with every email you send

Contributions Form

Use this form to keep track of offline donations.

Team Recruitment Flyer

Starting a team is a brrr-eeze if you follow these easy steps

Looking for Cool School Challenge resources (VA Beach event only)? Head to the Cool School page for tailormade fundraising tools for students and teachers!