A mild January helped make Marian Catholic High School’s 10th Annual Polar Plunge a little easier this year. It was around 45 degrees at noon when the first four jumped in Mauch Chunk Lake. The water temperature was 40 degrees.

Jerome Dvorak, the president of the Blue and Gold Club, the fundraising arm of the school, and Kathy Goff, fundraiser coordinator, said that this is one of the most popular fundraisers for Marian. Goff has been coordinating the Polar Plunge for ten years.

“It’s been 10 years that we’ve been doing this,” Goff shared. “I started it with St. Joe’s (Jim Thorpe) and, when they closed, I transitioned it over to Marian. It’s been pretty successful. I expect a lot of students to jump in today from what I’m hearing.”

The event raised more than $7,000 for Marian.

There were 62 plungers this year, including 6 alumni, 11 Marian students and one Marian teacher. There were 9 “chickens” (those who donate but do not jump in), and 12 plungers were repeat jumpers.

The participants came from four states: Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina. In Pennsylvania, they came from 9 counties: Carbon, Schuylkill, Luzerne, Lehigh, Monroe, Lancaster, Delaware, Philadelphia, and Columbia.

One of the biggest changes for Dvorak and Goff this year is that they both planned to jump in as well. Goff said her daughter, Jenna, helped her make the choice.

“My daughter’s a senior this year and she said, ‘Mom, it’s time to put up or shut up.’”

Dvorak said his wife, Janice, suggested it to him.

“How many wives would like to tell their husband to jump in a lake and make it happen?”

The two decided, with Janice Dvorak’s help, that if they could raise at least $1,500, they would both make the plunge.

Another change was costumes. The House of Jerky in Jim Thorpe offered to sponsor a prize for the best costume.

The to jump in were Marian students Lizzie Pikitus, Danica Karlick, and Katie Barron, and Mary Matunis, a theology teacher at Marian.

The Arctic sponsors for the Polar Plunge were: Dr. Joanne Calabrese, the Cappel family; Kelly Iron Works; Jim Thorpe House of Jerky; Zimmerman’s Dairy, Dr. Joseph McGinley, Joseph Puskar ’65, the Bielen/Meiss family; Jim Thorpe Dental Associates, Jim Thorpe Fire Dept., and FCSLA Life.

Frigid sponsors were: Times News LLC; Knights of Columbus Assembly 923; Mauch Chunk Trust Co.; Lisa Napoletano Running With the Angels, and Jack and Jane Malarkey.

Chilly sponsor were Charles and Jane Reaman, and in-kind sponsor was Lehighton Ambulance.

The Blue and Gold Club will use the money for various activities at the school.

“It all goes to support the extracurricular activities,” Dvorak said. “It’s athletics; it’s the STEM classrooms; it’s performing arts. It’s everything for our students that you can imagine that would help to support them. So that’s why we’re here.”

Visit Marian’s website at www.mariancatholichs.org or the Polar Plunge Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PolarPlungeMCHS.