Oregonians Take Part in 'Polar Bear Plunge' and Help Special Olympics

The event was held Saturday morning, at NE Portland’s Broughton Beach on the Columbia River.

Learn more about Q, visit: IraqWarHeries.org

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - You've got to be crazy to consider something like this, yet every year Oregonians do the unthinkable, plunging into icy cold water at a number of locations, they say the event first got rolling in Bend.

Our ace photographer Q Madp, known for his role as the founder of IraqWarHeroes.org, was on scene to record the action.

The event was held Saturday morning, at NE Portland’s Broughton Beach on the Columbia River.

More than a thousand took part in last year's plunge, the tally for this year was not available at press time, however we heard the number easily rivals that of last year's.

And while it all sounds like a semi-torturous bout of fun, the Polar Plunge is an important annual event that raises much-needed support for Special Olympics Oregon.

Between February 3 and 18, five cities host similar plunges with nearly 4,000 participants total. “Polar Plungers” in Eugene and Corvallis sprint into the Willamette River. In Medford they jump into an unheated outdoor pool. And in Bend, they brave the icy Deschutes River.

Each plunger will have raised a minimum of $50 in pledges from friends and family for the privilege of running into the water. Most won’t stop at $50, and an elite cadre of Super Plungers, who’ve raised at least $3,000 each, will enter the water in Portland once an hour for a twenty four hour period.

Polar Plungers can participate as individuals or recruit a group of friends to run into the water as a team. Many businesses have used this as a team-building exercise and community service project for their employees.

People wishing to take the plunge next year for Special Olympics Oregon, an extremely worthy cause, can register online at PlungeOregon.com. Those who don’t want to go into the cold water themselves can support another plunger or team, or they can take the “Too Chicken to Plunge” option.

Details are on the website.

Q Madp is a person who has dedicated his life to preserving the integrity of those who have died fighting for their nation overseas. This is a person who has wrapped his entire life around his efforts to preserve the legacies of people who have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as during other conflicts. He doesn’t think their deaths should go unrecognized, and he is right.

Q is a photographer and he has his work cut out for him as the self-appointed unofficial photographer of NW military funerals. He travels to services and he is constantly on the move. When he isn’t driving or shooting pictures, Q spends his time researching combat statistics and adding names to the vast list that he hopes will eventually include every American lost in the combat theaters and every other allied soldier as well. His Website is easy to remember, IraqWarHeroes.org is a place of memories for thousands of families who have lost a loved one.