NWU Fraternities Take a Polar Plunge in Order to Raise Money

On Saturday, Feb. 28, approximately $70,000 was raised to benefit the Special Olympics. Over 350 participants jumped into Lincoln’s Holmes Lake in 35-degree temperatures to raise the money. Participants came from all over Nebraska and included some representatives of Nebraska Wesleyan University’s fraternities. The men of Omega Alpha Chi and Zeta Psi fraternities took the Polar Plunge on the frigid Saturday morning at the Lake located on 70th Street between Van Dorn and Pioneers Streets. Geoff Oliphant, who headed the event up for Zeta Psi, said, “It was a great way to raise a lot of money for a great cause. Everyone had a lot of fun today and we raised a lot of money.”

Austen Adams of OAX agreed, saying, “It’s good that we were able to raise so much money by having such a great time. Even though it was really cold, it was philanthropy far worth doing.”

To participate in the plunge, each member of the team had to individually raise a minimum of $50. The team total for the eight plunging members of Zeta Psi was $825, while the seven members of OAX stood tall at $390.

OAX in a Hawaiian theme and Zeta Psi looking sharp in their “Business Casual” theme, which featured Goodwill suit-coats, ties and boxers worn over compression shorts, took on the plunge. As each team got in and out of the water individually, Oliphant says, “I was about 10 seconds behind the other guys out of the water.”

After the fun-filled morning, all participants of the event were treated to lunch at Dino’s restaurant on South 84th Street for burgers and camaraderie.

This coming summer, the National Special Olympics will be hosted in Lincoln, making it a special year to raise money for the event. It is said that over a 24-hour period, a plane will touch down every 90 seconds at Lincoln’s Municipal Airport. In recent years, the games have been held in metropolitan cities larger than Lincoln. However, this year, event officials decided to make some changes by locating the Special Olympics here in Lincoln.