BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Members of the Lehigh University community took part in a cold-weather fundraiser Friday, teaming up with Special Olympics Pennsylvania to host a mobile polar plunge on campus.
The event invited participants to jump into cold water to raise money for athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the state.
Lauren Lencovich, a master’s student who works with the Lehigh University Community Service Office, helped organize the event. She said more than 100 people signed up and donated to take the plunge.
Lencovich said the effort reflects both personal and community connections to the cause.
“Personally, my family operates a support coordination in New Jersey, so I have a lot of experience working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” Lencovich said. “This is a really passionate project for myself, and then being able to connect this to the Lehigh campus before I graduate and starting this partnership has been really incredible.”
According to Special Olympics Pennsylvania, the event has raised more than $7,000 to support more than 15,000 athletes statewide.
Asha Patel, a student who participated in the plunge, said it was meaningful to come together for a shared cause.
Lencovich said this was the first time Lehigh University has hosted a mobile polar plunge for Special Olympics Pennsylvania and added that organizers plan to hold a similar event again in October.