Gulls Take Plunge to Benefit River House Homeless Shelter
February 10, 2012
Check out photos from Endicott's Polar Plunge!
BEVERLY, Mass. – Sixty-five members of the Endicott College community, forty-two of them student-athletes, braved the cold waters at Lynch Park last Sunday as they participated in a Polar Plunge.
The Plunge, in its sixth year, is an annual event in which community members collect pledges of money in exchange for jumping into icy water on a winter day. This year, over \$40,000 were raised for the North Shore Community Development Coalition and the River House, a homeless shelter in Beverly.
Members of the Endicott men’s soccer team were among the first to enter the chilly waters, led by Head Coach Joe Calabrese. Representatives from the women’s soccer team and the men’s basketball team also took the plunge.
“It felt great giving back to the community. I was only cold for a minute while there are thousands homeless for a lifetime,” said sophomore Tomas Ferriter, a member of the men’s soccer team.
Over 300 people from the community participated in the event, which returned to its traditional Super Bowl Sunday date after being postponed to a considerably warmer day in April last year.
Two plunge sites were set up, with the other taking place at Dead Horse Beach at Salem, Willows. The number of plungers has increased in recent years, in thanks to the participation of local schools. In addition to Endicott, all seven public schools in Beverly and three schools in Salem, formed teams.
Despite the freezing cold temperatures, the support of fellow team members helped the Gulls shake off their fears of diving in. “The team all got together and said, if you’re going in, you’re going all the way in,” said Ferriter, who admitted he couldn’t feel his legs for close to ten minutes after coming out of the water.
Endicott’s participation in the Polar Plunge followed a full month of community service work. The Gulls participated in over 200 hours of community service during the January break alone, including work at the Briscoe Middle School and the Cape Ann Food Pantry.
BEVERLY, Mass. – Sixty-five members of the Endicott College community, forty-two of them student-athletes, braved the cold waters at Lynch Park last Sunday as they participated in a Polar Plunge.
The Plunge, in its sixth year, is an annual event in which community members collect pledges of money in exchange for jumping into icy water on a winter day. This year, over \$40,000 were raised for the North Shore Community Development Coalition and the River House, a homeless shelter in Beverly.
Members of the Endicott men’s soccer team were among the first to enter the chilly waters, led by Head Coach Joe Calabrese. Representatives from the women’s soccer team and the men’s basketball team also took the plunge.
“It felt great giving back to the community. I was only cold for a minute while there are thousands homeless for a lifetime,” said sophomore Tomas Ferriter, a member of the men’s soccer team.
Over 300 people from the community participated in the event, which returned to its traditional Super Bowl Sunday date after being postponed to a considerably warmer day in April last year.
Two plunge sites were set up, with the other taking place at Dead Horse Beach at Salem, Willows. The number of plungers has increased in recent years, in thanks to the participation of local schools. In addition to Endicott, all seven public schools in Beverly and three schools in Salem, formed teams.
Despite the freezing cold temperatures, the support of fellow team members helped the Gulls shake off their fears of diving in. “The team all got together and said, if you’re going in, you’re going all the way in,” said Ferriter, who admitted he couldn’t feel his legs for close to ten minutes after coming out of the water.
Endicott’s participation in the Polar Plunge followed a full month of community service work. The Gulls participated in over 200 hours of community service during the January break alone, including work at the Briscoe Middle School and the Cape Ann Food Pantry.