Special Olympics Québec – Montreal, February 20, 2017 – The 1.7 degree Celsius of the water didn’t discourage more than 150 people who came to participate to the Polar Bear Plunge, presented Saturday at the Club de canoe de Lachine. This original fundraising activity, organized by the Law Enforcement Torch Run, has raised $45,139 of which $18,000 comes from the CN Police, to benefit Special Olympics Québec.

Among the brave participants, were more than fifty police officers, including, Stephen Covey, Chief of Police and Chief security officer at CN and Shawn Dulude, Station commander at the Sûreté du Québec and provincial Director of the Law Enforcement Torch Run. A team of about 50 employees and friends from the Scotia Bank, and Peter Yong, SOQ athlete, did spectacular entrances into the ice water.

The event took off with a symbolic torch run at 1 p.m. From 1:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., the brave contestants plunged into the cold waters, cheered on by hundreds of people and the gang from Énergie who was onsite to entertain the crowd. Also lots of teams were originally costumed.

To take the plunge, each participant needed to collect a minimum amount of $50. All donations of this activity will benefit more than 6,000 Special Olympics Québec athletes.

This fundraising activity was held as part of the Law Enforcement Torch Run program in collaboration with the Club de canoe de Lachine, the CN Police, the Montreal Police Department, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Sûreté du Québec and Énergie

About Special Olympics Québec

Thanks to the support of businesses and individuals who contribute over 90% of its funding, Special Olympics Québec offers year-round training programs and a competition network to more than  6,000 athletes 2 years old and over with an intellectual disability across the province. The programs available in 17 sports are aimed at promoting and improving the physical fitness, self-esteem and integration into society of people living with an intellectual disability. www.olympiquesspeciauxquebec.ca

About the Law Enforcement Torch Run

All over the world, the Law Enforcement Torch Run is the most important annual fundraiser benefitting Special Olympics. It helps promote the Special Olympics movement and raises the public’s awareness of the cause of people living with an intellectual disability.

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Information:

Contact :
Special Olympics Québec

Eddy Bonvard
Law Enforcement Torch Run liaison and coordinator
Telephone: 514 503-5353
E-mail: ebonvard@olympiquesspeciaux.qc.ca

Hélène Sabatini
Communication Director
Telephone: 514 592-9765
E-mail: hsabatini@olympiquesspeciaux.qc.ca