Taking the plunge for charity
By Claire Compton
The temperatures this week may have been above average for early February, but to the dozen or so intrepid individuals who take the polar plunge in Lake Anne this Saturday, it will likely still be bone-chillingly cold.
The event is the first of its kind in this area, but events like it along the East Coast have raised money for Camp Sunshine for several years.
Jennifer Toth, 15, took the plunge on the New Jersey shore last February to raise money for Camp Sunshine, which she attended with her family when she was 2 years old and battling cancer.
Since then, Jennifer has been cancer-free, and the Toth family has returned every year as volunteers. The camp hosts families with children battling life-threatening illnesses.
In addition to volunteering, the Toths hope to send 10 area families to camp this year with proceeds raised from the Lake Anne Polar Plunge. The cost for one family to stay one week is $1,500. The minimum pledge to take the plunge is $100.
“Last February [Jennifer] said we should have one in Virginia. Since there are no oceans handy we looked at Lake Anne,” Jennifer's mother, Gail Toth, said.
Nearly a dozen individuals have committed to the full polar plunge, but Toth said she expects more will show up the day of the plunge. For the more cautious there is the option to take the “chicken dip,” which requires only dipping one's feet in the water.
One participant taking the chicken dip includes Jennifer's younger sister Julianna, 4. Gail Toth said no one else in the family will be taking the full-on plunge.
“We'll be there to cheer her on and hold the towel,” she said.
Lake Anne merchant Body By Geoff has offered up five employees, including owner James Smith, for the full-on plunge.
According to Gail Toth, the seconds in the frigid water are a small sacrifice to make for the camp that helped her family out in a very difficult time.
“When you have a child with a life-threatening illness, it's a very scary place to be. Nobody really knows what you're going through,” Toth said.
At Camp Sunshine, 40 other families know exactly what you're going through, she said.
“We feel so blessed to have such a good outcome, we feel we need to give something back.”