Special Olympics hosts Annual Polar Plunge event at Sunset Station Hotel & Casino
Special Olympics Nevada hosted its annual Polar Plunge fundraising event on Saturday, March 5, at Sunset Station Hotel & Casino (Pictured: St. Paddy Plungers).
Clark County Fire Dept
Hundreds of participants, all who raised $125 or more, braved cold winds and chilly waters to take a dive into the casino’s outdoor pool for charity. Groups and individuals decked the pool deck in creative costumes, judged by a group of local celebrity guest judges who included Patty Barba of Patty’s Closet; Chief James Ketsaa of the Clark County School District Police Department; Department Battalion Doug Koopman of the Henderson Fire Department; and Mark Shunock of Mondays Dark and Intrigue at Wynn Las Vegas.
Team Nemo
Pool cabanas transformed into booths featuring raffle prizes from local Las Vegas businesses, and games and activities including a hula-hoop contest, whiffle ball and golf. Event-goers also had the opportunity to “Ask an Athlete” and speak with Special Olympics Athletes, as well as meet-and-greet with dozens of members of local law enforcement—departments that have chosen Special Olympics as their charity of choice nationwide. Special Olympics Nevada also took pledges to Spread the Word to End the Word, promoting respectful language for all and removing the “r-word” from common vocabularies.
Nevada Highway Patrol
Participants also received a visit from royalty as the recently crowned Mrs. Nevada-America, Lauren Cahlan, mixed and mingled with Special Olympics Athletes, volunteers and Polar Plungers prior to the dive.
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Mrs. Nevada-America
ollowing the plunge, participants enjoyed an After-Splash Bash inside Club Madrid at Sunset Station, complete with a catered lunch, entertainment, a cash bar and awards for top fundraisers and best costumes.
In total, the event raised more than $33,000 for Special Olympics Nevada.
Special Olympics Nevada is a chapter of Special Olympics, an international organization dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition. Special Olympics Nevada offers children and adults with intellectual disabilities year-round training and competition in Olympic-type sports at no cost to the athlete. Special Olympics Nevada grows by three athletes every day of the year. Just $250 gives one of our athletes the opportunity to compete in sports for an entire year. For more information on Special Olympics Nevada visit www.SONV.org or follow at www.Facebook.com/SONevada and www.Twitter.com/SONevada.