Polar plunging! Icy splish-splash benefits Meals on Wheels!

Posted on by Eric Crews

The morning started out cold and cloudy, but by the time the first participant took to the diving board in the third annual Meals on Wheels Polar Plunge on Saturday morning at the Asheville Racquet Club, the sun was shining brightly and the air outside had risen to a brisk 33 degrees. However, the warmth of the sun was little match for the icy waters of the mostly-frozen swimming pool that this year’s 27 participants were jumping into.

The participants, dressed in an odd-assortment of costumes and swim wear, somersaulted, belly-flopped and cannonballed into the frigid waters to raise money for a good cause. According to Meals on Wheels Development Director Terri Bowman, their efforts were not in vain. Although the final amount of money has yet to be tallied, Bowman said that as of Friday the fundraiser had raised more than $15,000 and she hopes that more money will continue to be raised through the weekend. 

“It was freezing,” Diane Trammel, the Executive Director of Meals on Wheels said following her plunge. “But the thirty minutes of being cold and shivering is well worth it to support such a good cause.”

The proceeds from the event go toward the Meals on Wheels program that provides more than 500 meals every day to the homebound elderly in Buncombe County. To learn more about their program and ways you can help, visit: www.mowabc.org

story by Eric Crews (High Country Adventures)

For Jerry Nelson’s photo slide show of the plunge, click here.

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