Last year, YMCA Director Tom Everett took the plunge for the YMCA. He is returning again this year. 

This Saturday, the YMCA is hosting their annual Polar Plunge to raise funds and awareness for local non-profit organizations.

Katie Ketchum, the marketing and development director of the Thomasville YMCA, said that in the past, the Polar Plunge was a way for them to raise funds for swim lessons for the less financially able. 

“Usually, with the Polar Plunge, we have used it specifically for raising funds for swim lessons,” Ketchum said. “All of the profits go toward giving people in our community the opportunity to go through our swim lesson program that might not be financially able to.”

However, while funds will still be going toward offering swim lessons, the event has expanded its goal to helping raise funds for other non-profits as well. 

“This year, we changed it to be able to offer other non-profits in the community the opportunity to help not only raise money for swim lessons but their own missions as well,” Ketchum said. 

With a total of seven non-profits participating in the Polar Plunge alongside the Thomasville YMCA, including the Special Olympics, the Scott Senior Center, Hands on Thomas County, the Thomasville-Thomas County Humane Society, Hands & Hearts for Horses, the Thomas Grady Service Center and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, each one will be aiming to raise the most money, according to Ketchum.

“They’re each raising money for their own cause,” she said. “And how that works is whoever raises the most will get 100% of their proceeds to go back to their program and everybody else will get 50%. So, 50% will go to that non-profit, that charity organization, and the other 50% will go to the Y and we will use it to fund more swim lessons.”

Taking place this Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Butler-Mason YMCA, representatives from each non-profit will be sliding into the chilling waters of the unheated pool in the play pool area, she said. 

“That pool is not heated, so we will have the participants that agree to take the plunge go up the stairs and go down that slide,” Ketchum said. “And that’s the only way they are ensured for the funds, so if they don’t take the plunge then their funds that they’ve raised, they don’t get the 50% or 100%.”

According to Ketchum, this is both to raise money for these organizations, but also to recognize their missions and the need in the community for the work they do.

“It really should create more brand awareness of the non-profits we have in the area and the need we have in the community for those non-profits,” she said. “People don’t realize how many we have in Thomasville and Thomas County.”