After years of participating at off-site locations, Westford Academy’s Student Council (STUCO) will be hosting its first-ever Polar Plunge on March 11 at the auxiliary parking lot. Inviting the community to raise money together for the Special Olympics of Massachusetts by jumping into ice cold water, the plunge will officially begin at 2:30 p.m. and is open to all.
Teams or individuals can register and raise money through WA’s site, with the minimum suggested donation being $100; participants can choose to either be “plungers” or “towel-holders.” The plunge itself will take place in a custom mobile truck called the “Plungester,” which will be transported to WA on the day of the event. The fun will continue with music, food, a short ceremony, and even a fire pit hosted by Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and Project Purple.
According to dean Betsy Murphy, the idea to host a plunge at WA was first brought up by P.E teacher William Meuse after hearing about the event during a conference this fall, alongside P.E teachers Joe Van Gelder and Scott Brown. Soon, in coordination with STUCO, the Unified Sports program, WA Best Buddies, and the Massachusetts Special Olympics, a plan to become one of 31 hosting locations state-wide was set into motion, with an initial goal of raising $2500.
As of now, the community has collected more than $4000 in donations.
“I’m honestly really surprised, from just the advertisements that we’ve put out so far, how much interest [the plunge] is gaining,” sophomore and Best Buddies representative Amelia Brown said. “I think people realize the potential that this event has, and I think that’s also why people are really joining in on it. I’ve had people who don’t even go to our school donate to me, so I think it’s just awesome.”
While there were some challenges along the way, especially with cold weather delaying walk-through dates, the group has ultimately seen a great community response and hopes to involve as many clubs as possible, according to Van Gelder. To achieve this, in addition to sharing videos and flyers, members of STUCO have also garnered interest by dressing up in polar bear costumes throughout the day. With this, the group has set a new fundraising goal: $6,000.
“On the STUCO side of things, there’s been a lot of talking to people about it and trying to have people sign up. Just reaching out to different groups and sports teams, and getting more attention for the event,” sophomore Ty McDonough said. “[…] I think it’s going so well because it goes to a great cause and everyone likes supporting each other.”
According to Murphy, it wasn’t until six years ago that WA’s work to support students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDDs) really took off, with the popularity of clubs like Best Buddies and the introduction of Unified Sports in conjunction with Scott Brown’s long-standing Adaptive P.E program. It was no coincidence that it was also six years ago that WA was set to welcome an increasing number of students with IDDs – the most in the school’s history.
Reflecting on this progress, Murphy sees the event as a culmination of WA’s growing commitment to these students and ultimately a more inclusive school environment. Murphy herself, along with principal Dan Twomey, will be plunging for the cause and encourages participants to have fun with the event – from wearing silly outfits to fundraising rivalries between sports teams.
“You have nothing to lose if you sign up. If you sign up and you happen to send that out to a couple of your friends or relatives, and a couple of dollars comes into the pot, you’ll feel like you’re contributing to the win for the whole school,” Murphy said. “[…]. We have so many branches of people helping. And what’s great is that, if it’s successful on the first one, it will run for life.”
