Hundreds Take A Dip In Chilly River For Annual Polar Plunge

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Hundreds of people waded into the cold Ohio River on Saturday morning to raise money for a good cause at the 7th Annual Polar Plunge.

Jessica DiVito, director of development with the Special Olympics PA, estimated somewhere between 850 and 1,000 people showed up at Stage AE to participate.

All of the money raised went to the Special Olympics.

"The money raised today will go to make sure that the athletes don't have to pay to participate," DiVito said, "so travel expenses, uniforms, rental costs -- everything associated with participation with Special Olympics is free of charge for the athletes. So the Polar Plunge goes to benefit the athletes directly."

DiVito said they hoped to raise $350,000 for Special Olympics athletes across the state of Pennsylvania.

For a new twist this year, those who wanted to participate but didn't necessarily want to jump into the river had the option to jump into outdoor, above-ground pools instead.

Donations can still be made at SpecialOlympicsPA.org or PittsburghPlunge.org.

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