A pool party in February may sound crazy, but it is not as strange as it seems. The Polar Plunge is an annual event that is a fund-raiser for the Special Olympics. Plungers brave the cold water to raise money based on pledged amounts for special Olympic participants.

“This is for our Special Olympic athletes. This allows us to provide quality competitions, get our venues for competitions, as well as provide services to our athletes,” Director of Field services Norm Arias said.

After swimming through the pool, plungers jumped in the hot tub to warm up. Although it felt like a cool summer morning, plungers still were able to feel the rush of the cold water.

“I think this was perfect, it was warm enough outside that we weren’t freezing when we first got in. But then you still got the shock of getting in the pool so this was perfect,”  Laura Reece,  one of the polar plungers, said.

In 2012, Special Olympics of Texas raised more than $14 million in donation to provide services for their athletes. Arias says that there is always a way to help out the local Special Olympics.

“If you really want to know what is going on for Special Olympics in your community, our website is www.sotx.org,” Arias said.