7th Annual CCAN Polar Bear Plunge

Coming OUT of the Potomac.  SUCCESS!  

 

 Why I Plunge in the Potomac Every January
In the summer of 2006, I went to see the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" and was truly disturbed.  As the credits were playing, I stood up from my seat, I thought, "This is RIDICULOUS!  I want to DO something!"  As I walked out of the theatre complex into the daylight, I was approached by representatives of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) who asked me if I wanted to help fight climate charge.  "Of course!" I answered.  When they asked me if I wanted to join their e-mail list, I didn't hesitate to add my name.  A few weeks later, I received an invitation from CCAN to attend a Clean Energy Open House at the home of Mike Tidwell, CCAN's founder and executive director.  I attended and my life was changed forever;  I went from light green to dark green.  I saw Mike's solar panels, his laundry drying outside in the sun and his native plants growing in his yard.  I went inside his house and saw a video he made about all the energy efficient actions he has taken in his house including using a corn-fired stove, Energy Star appliances and compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs).  I left that day with my first CFLs (they weren't easy to find in stores back then) and went home an unplugged my appliances (Mike taught me about phantom energy and how even though appliances are turned off, they are still using energy, running up your electricity bill and putting CO2 in the air).  As time went on and I read more and became more active in the green community, I realized I wanted to choose only the most sustainable options for home and work life. 

So when CCAN has their annual Keep Winter Cold Polar Bear Plunge, I don't hesitate to get cold for about a minute each January.  Two days ago, I participated in my 5th Plunge, which was CCAN's 7th.  The first year I plunged, I noticed that the event wasn't very green.  This shocked me since CCAN was an environmental organization, but I've learned over the years that even environmental groups don't know how to green events, so for my second year Plunge, I volunteered to help make this annual event GREEN and have continued to help make it green ever since. 

How We Greened This Year's Plunge
Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company, a local roaster out of Crofton, Maryland, provided attendees with fair trade, organic coffee (and they also generously provided organic tea while lori hill event productions provided fair trade, organic hot chocolate).  You can buy CBRC's coffee in stores.  The cups and stirrers were compostable and did I mention how delicious the coffee is? 

CBRC provided a variety of fair trade, organic coffee. 

Perfect Settings, an event rental company out of Landover, Maryland, donated our table linens and also provided table and chairs.  They get it when it comes to going green.  Some of their services include taking back linen hangers, bailing and recycling plastic linen covers, renting recycling containers and then picking up the recycling at the conclusion of the event. 

Waste Neutral Group out of Baltimore ensured that our waste was disposed of properly.  They provided bins for recycling, composting and landfill.  We barely created any waste and the majority of it was compostable (coffee cups and food waste) or recyclable. 

Waste Neutral's waste free area.  From left to right:  composting, landfill and recycling.  

Mark's Kitchen out of Takoma Park also gave us a great deal on vegan and traditional cookies.  Vegan and vegetarian diets are better for the environment for many, many reasons.  Look for future blogs about this topic! 

 Other Details
We plunged into the Potomac River by National Harbor which is right by the Woodrow Wilson Bridge at the Maryland-Virginia border outside of Alexandria, Virginia.  The air temperature was in the low to mid 30s and the water temperature was 38.  We had about 100 or so plungers and about 100 more supporters (who will hopefully join us next year). VIPs included Congresswoman Donna Edwards from Maryland (it was her second year plunging!) and James Hansen, world-renowned NASA climatologist (his first year plunging).

My Fundraising
Thanks to my generous donors (47 and counting), I exceeded my goal of $2,000 and raised a total of $2,098 (and money is STILL coming in!).  As of Saturday morning, I was the top donor who wasn't a CCAN employee!  As of today, Lise Van Susteran (a CCAN board member and sister of Fox News' Greta Van Susteran) has me beat by 82 bucks! For more photos by John Robinette, visit my Facebook page. 

Warm hat, kids' beach towel, mens' bathrobe, ratty sneakers = one glamorous gal!

Ready, set, plunge!  (All photos courtesy of John Robinette)

 

 

 

Brrrr! I'm Taking the Plunge!

Why I Plunge
Visiting the home of Mike Tidwell, the executive director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, in the summer of 2006 for one of his clean energy open houses turned me from light green to dark green. I credit CCAN for the sustainable practices I engage in at home and in my business and I’ve developed quite a passion for the fight against climate change. I’m trying to do my part to raise awareness about it and to help CCAN in their battle to change legislation. Accordingly, it has been my pleasure and honor to participate in their Annual Polar Bear Plunge for the previous 3 years even though I’m not a fan of the cold.

Make a Pledge!
If you'd like to make a pledge -- I'll take pledges of $5 to $500 -- go to my plunge page.

I Hope You’ll Join Me
I always have a great time at the Plunge. Seeing people of ALL ages is so inspiring and some folks wear amazing costumes. We drink great organic/fair trade coffee from Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company (we also provide hot tea and cocoa) and Dale Ball from New Leaf Vegan Society gets up at the crack of dawn to prepare her tasty vegan muffins and cookies. Be sure to get to the Plunge site early because Dale’s treats go fast! Our food and beverage spread always looks so nice because Perfect Settings party rental company donates the most beautiful table linens. And afterwards, Waste Neutral Group takes away all our waste – compost, recycling and the tiny bit that goes to the landfill.

The actual plunge itself is less than a minute. In fact, your time in the water is mere seconds. It’s a small sacrifice for a great cause.

Afterwards, we all head to an after party close by and nosh on great food and many of us have an adult beverage or two. This year, we’ll be at McLoone’s Pier House, a restaurant that cares about the environment.

If you'd like to join me, you can register at Keep Winter Cold.

Tips for an Effective Plunge
When I arrive at the Plunge site, I have my bathing suit on under my multiple layers of clothes (long johns under pants and about 3 or 4 layers up top). When it comes time to plunge, we all head into the heated tents to strip down to our suits. I then put on a bathrobe and wrap myself up in a blanket. I also bring a towel. For the previous 3 years, I’ve worn flip flops which is NOT a good choice because they fly off as soon as I hit the water. This time, my plunge attire will consist of a pair of old athletic shoes, my bathing suit, a hat, a scarf and some gloves. After the Plunge, we head back into the warm tents to change back into our warm clothes. Be sure to bring a Chico bag (or some other nylon bag – no plastic!) in which to place your suit and any other wet clothing.

If you are on the fence about plunging, I hope you’ll – pardon the pun – take the plunge and participate in the Plunge! You’ll have a great time!