Polar Bear Plunge Raises $4,000

By Thomas M. Hill

Article Last Updated 02.13.2010

On February 6, members of the Midwest Staffing team braved the icy waters of Weaver Lake in Maple Grove, MN, to participate in the Polar Bear Plunge. In conjunction with Athletic Nation and H Brothers Painting, the team raised over $4,000 for Special Olympics Minnesota. All participants in the event raised over $125,000.

The Midwest Staffing team took a bus from the Lookout Bar and Grill in Maple Grove to Weaver Lake. Jeff Merwin, business development specialist and first-time Polar Bear Plunge participant, had high anxieties about being a part of the event. “It was really cold,” he said. “It was cold enough to make me wonder if I was going to survive.” Despite the conditions, all 22 members of the group managed to get over their fears of frozen body parts and make their way across the bone-chilling lake in about 20 seconds.

For encouragement’s sake, there were a handful of people waiting on the sidelines to cheer on the plungers. Some were competitors in the Special Olympics. A mother of one of the Olympians was taking photos. She mentioned that her daughter, who suffers from a neurological disorder, hoped to participate one day in the event. Keith Marler, of Fox 9 News, jumped earlier in the day. He was so excited about participating that he was on track to do it one more time that day.

Having Olympians and a television personality on hand made a huge difference to the team. But it was the team’s commitment to serving the community that really seemed to keep everyone focused. “Midwest Staffing is huge on community,” Jeff said. “We care more about the community than anything else because that is what makes the world go round. We want to make a difference.”

Jeff also believed it was important to understand the difficulties that participants in the Special Olympics face every day. “I thought about the athletes as I was in the water, thinking about the monumental hurdles they have to get over.” It made his twenty-second plunge and numbed legs feel more like “a leisurely backstroke through a rose-petaled pond.”