A group of motorcycle enthusiasts are hosting a New Years Day plunge in Skaha Lake on the south side of Penticton to raise funds for the Salvation Army food bank.
The inaugural “Hunger Dip Polar Plunge” will take place on Hulley Beach near Sudbury Beach on Jan. 1 at noon.
Co-organizer Al Weldon is a former member of the Association of Recovering Motorcyclists who usually organizes a “hunger ride” for the food bank. This year it’s a chilly plunge in the lake.
“Thirty per cent of the people who use the food bank are children and every dollar you donate has three dollars buying power,” Weldon said on Monday.
Salvation Army spokesperson Miriam Leslie said the donations will go towards feeding the increasing number of families struggling to make ends meet.
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“I think it is a lot of fun, maybe a little bit crazy but a really unique and special way to ring in the new year,” she said.
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“Although we’ve done really well with Christmas, that food will last for a few months, and with more and more clients coming for help. And so it will help us to be able to provide staples like pasta and peanut butter and those kinds of things.”
Brave participants are asked to help sell $20 pledge tickets or businesses can become a sponsor for $200.
Weldon said 100 per cent of the funds raised will go to the non-profit organization.
“We’d like to raise a lot of money but it will probably be just a few thousand dollars but first year right,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Salvation Army said three-hundred volunteers were involved in the annual kettle campaign which has raised at least $102,000 for the food bank.
You can find more information on their website.
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