The Coney Island Polar Bear Club has been hosting a New Year’s Day Polar Plunge for everyone daring enough to brave the icy Atlantic for a great cause since 1903. In the past decade, the Club has raised more than $500,000 to support local charities and nonprofits, with more than $60,000 raised in this year alone. Proceeds from the plunge were donated to Alliance for Coney Island, the Club’s fundraising partner; New York Aquarium, for local conservation initiatives; and many other community-based organizations such as Coney Island USA, Coney Island History Project, and the NYC Parks Foundation.
More than 3,500 people participated in the 2019 New Year’s Polar Plunge. The event broke records in both participant and fundraising numbers. The club chose organizations to receive donations based on their commitment to leadership in advocacy, educational resources, and youth engagement.
“The Coney Island Polar Bear Club is proud to be able to offer support to these worthy organizations in the Coney Island Community,” Club President Dennis Thomas said. “We wish to thank all of our New Year’s Day Plunge participants who donated so generously to make this possible and hope to see them all again on New Year’s Day 2020 for another plunge in the frigid Atlantic.”
The Club gave $20,000 to the New York Aquarium to help fund its New York Seascape local conservation initiative. This donation will help Seascape study the region’s whale and shark populations, restore healthy populations of alewife herring and American eels to local waterways, and build a local marine conservation constituency in Coney Island, which will help keep New York’s waters safe for wildlife and people.
“A big thank you to the Polar Bear Club and all of the participants in this year’s event,” said Jon Forrest Dohlin, WCS vice president and director of the New York Aquarium. “This money will help our scientists study and protect our local marine ecosystems and the wildlife found in our waters around New York…including the Polar Bears found in Coney Island!”
The Alliance for Coney Island received $24,000 as the Polar Bear Club’s fundraising partner. The funds will support free summer events such as Friday Night Fireworks, as well as job recruitment events that connect Brooklynites to job opportunities on Coney Island, and events that advocate for improvements to the Coney Island community. Alexandra Silversmith, the executive director of the alliance, said the organization is ecstatic to put the donation to good use this year.
Main Image: Jon Forrest Dohlin, WCS Vice President and Director of the New York Aquarium, receives a check for $20,000 from the Coney Island Polar Bear Club. The money will help support local marine conservation work by the aquarium’s New York Seascape program. Credit: John Delaney/WCS
