8th Annual "Polar Bear Plunge"

So on the first Saturday of December, over 150 people gathered at the boat dock at Bald Eagle State Park to plunge themselves into a lake for the YMCA of Centre County's 8th Annual "Polar Bear Plunge". And of course the State College Young Professionals brought our magic (or insanity).

The air was 29 degrees and the water was 36 this year. Brrrrr!

I was shaking people down for donations all month long, even "renting" out body parts to local businesses. Heck yeah! All that so I could go in as a Super Plunger -- plunging 3 times!

And I definitely went in for my three plunges -- going in twice with the Super Plungers and then once with the Young Pros. The first two times weren't too bad. That third time was a doozie cuz I had a few minutes to get semi-dry and warm before our plunge. When I went in for that third plunge, I think my muscles seized. My one partner pretty much had to drag me out of the water cuz my legs did not want to move. And then as my spotter tried to dry me off and get me warm, anything that touched my skin felt like knives. Ouch. (can you see the pain in my eyes? and that's just after the first two plunges)

It was all totally worth it. I now have bragging rights cuz I not only went into that water, I went in THREE times!

Plus, my awesome donors helped me hit and exceed my mark with $765 in donations! They also helped the Young Pros win the award for "Most Money Raised by a Group/Organization" with just over $3,200 raised! Woo hoo! Definitely not bad for only our second time participating. :-)

I'm so excited for next year's plunge!

2nd Annual Date Auction

October 26th marked the date of the 2nd Annual State College Young Professionals' Date Auction: Meet the Challenge. Just like last year, the Date Auction raised money for The Second Mile (specifically the scholarship program for their Challenge Camp).

Again, 20 eligible bachelors and bachelorettes from the State College area were up on the auction block - myself included. Local businesses donated various gift certificates for the dates -- bowling, theater tickets, dinners, a wine tasting -- while others donated food for everyone in attendance to nibble on. And new to this year, we even added a raffle drawing, selling tickets for a chance to win prizes also donated by area businesses (of course there was something from me!).

This year's event was such a success! Just so you get the idea, last year we raised about $4600 (pretty awesome for a group that had been in existence about 5 months).

This year? What did we raise? We raised $7100!!!! How awesome! We totally destroyed last year!!! I totally "bought" 2 people. Hey, all in the name of charity. Tee hee!

I'm amazed that I was "bought" for $1,000 (the highest bid for the night). I'm lucky to have some really awesome people in my life (the photo is me with my "owners")! That $1,000 will send 2 kids to camp, so the money we raised that night will send 14 kids to camp!!! Go us!!

We're always willing to accept donations at our various outreach events. The next big event I'm participating in is the "Polar Bear Plunge" to raise money for the YMCA of Centre County! Yep, AGAIN!! If you're a State College young professional and you're interested in the Plunge -- either plunging or spotting -- let us know! We could use more Plungers!