By Alexander Gilbert
On Friday, March 10th, the organization Special Olympics Massachusetts held the Polar Plunge event to raise money for Special Olympics athletes. The event had locations across the state, but the local plunge was organized at Kingsley Beach at Hampton Ponds State Park in Westfield, Massachusetts. The local Polar Plunge raised 74 thousand dollars which well surpassed their initial goal of 65 thousand. Across the entirety of Massachusetts, the state-wide community raised over 820 thousand dollars for the cause of Special Olympics athletics.
Our own campus community participated in the event, with Student Patrol Supervisor Ashley Signa taking the dive into the chilly waters of Kingsley Beach. She was supported by Western New England University’s Public Safety department, including Sergeant Capen-Parizo, Community Services Officer Callaghan and the campus comfort dog, Bear.
Signa’s position as Student Patrol Supervisor allows her to be a leader in the community by keeping campus safe, training new student patrollers, and conducting administrative duties such as assisting with the Public Safety accreditation process. She is passionate about helping both the campus community and the local community, which likely led to her choice to participate in the Polar Plunge.
When telling The Westerner about her experience, Signa described it as “nerve-wracking,” especially given that she was the only participant from the University. Fortunately, she had friends from the local college American International College to plunge with. She explained that since it was “the beginning of March, the lake water could have been colder, so it wasn’t so bad. The worst part was waiting to plunge”. After taking the freezing dive into the ponds, she rejoined the Public Safety crew. Signa noted that “even though I was the only one plunging, it was nice to have Sergeant Capen-Parizo, Community Services Officer Callaghan, and Bear cheering me on.”
Callaghan was extremely happy to support Signa and the Massachusetts community at the event, attending with Capen-Parizo, Bear the Comfort Dog, and the police cruiser. He explained that it’s essential for Public Safety to support the outside community since “we have students from all over New England and all over the world,” so even events outside of Springfield are important to the department. He noted his highlights were “watching Ashley participate and see other organizations out there supporting the cause.”
The appearance of Bear the Comfort Dog at the Polar Plunge was a highlight of the event. Callaghan told The Westerner, “it was very fun taking pictures of Bear, especially with the mascots.” A few of the organizations attending the event brought mascots, such as the Thunderbirds minor league hockey team and Sparky the Fire Dog from the fire department. It was vividly seen that “Bear had a blast with every mascot. He especially liked the fire dog mascot.”
Although it was fun spending time with Bear, the true power of the event was supporting Special Olympics athletes in the state of Massachusetts. Signa explained that “The Massachusetts Special Olympics is a wonderful organization because of the inclusion that they provide to those that have special needs.” She respects the organization heavily because they provide a fun and safe environment for people with special needs, who sometimes have been excluded, to socialize and improve their athletic skills. She is “proud to support a group that breaks down the walls of prejudice and promotes inclusiveness.”
After all the plungers warmed back up, they were able to recount the overwhelming success of the event. Callaghan reflected that “overall, the Polar Plunge was extremely successful. We raised several hundred dollars from Western New England University, and it was a fantastic cause to support”. Signa also was proud of the outcome but wished that there was more attendance from the University. She hopes that “going forward, the word about the event spreads to gain more participation” for the following year. Her goal is to gain more interest from the campus community and partner with other groups to build a larger Polar Plunge team.
