SCRANTON – Jessica Sowansky was taking an icy plunge for a good cause Saturday for the third time.
Sowansky, a Sheetz district manager, was joined by 11 of her co-workers for the frosty effort, as a team in Special Olympics Pennsylvania’s Northeast Polar Plunge at Montage Mountain Resorts.
DJ Dan Wineman, enjoying time between tunes Saturday at the annual Polar Plunge at Montage Mountain on Feb. 28, 2026. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
Looking back on past plunges, Sowansky remembered the dread that came with waiting for the team’s turn to plunge.
But, once you hear your team’s name called, the adrenaline rush sets in, and the plunge itself is easy, she said.
“We all hold hands,” she said. “And then there are high fives all around.”
A polar bear greets attendees of the annual Polar Plunge for Special Olympics on Saturday. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
Students from Western Wayne High School take the plunge Thursday as part of a Polar Plunge event at Montage to benefit the Special Olympics, (SUBMITTED)
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A polar bear greets attendees of the annual Polar Plunge for Special Olympics on Saturday. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
Earlier in the day, the team handed out free coffee, hot chocolate, and other treats to participants and other attendees of “Plunge Town,” as organizers called it.
Northeast Region Executive Director Heather Schreiner called the nearly 50-degree weather “perfect” for Saturday’s event.
In addition to the plunge itself, a party atmosphere prevailed, with a DJ, games, the Chicken Dance and other activities.
Several organizations were on hand to provide information and free giveaways.
“It was a nice way for a family to spend an afternoon,” Schreiner said.
About 200 people participated in Saturday’s plunge, raising over $100,000.
The money, which stays local, helps provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
Those activities, she said, offer opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship.
Earlier in the week, 16 schools participated in a similar polar plunge, with 700 students enthusiastically jumping into the water, in costumes that ranged from bright yellow bananas to hula girls.
Abington Heights topped the fundraising, having raised over $14,000 as of Saturday.
How polar is the plunge? The water is usually a few degrees warmer than the air. A 4-feet-deep pool, large enough for eight to 10 people, is carved from snow and fitted with a pool liner.
For information, see SpecialOlympicsPA.org and for the Northeast Region, visit specialolympicspa.org/region-4-home.