Polar Bear Plunging for a Cause

My fellow Editor in Chief, Rob Pockat, is not afraid to do dumb stuff. That often means that I have to take on the role of baby-sitter. I say "no" a lot and spoil the fun. But every once in a while, I loosen up a little and encourage the idiocy. Now would be one of those times.


When I got up today, this was in my inbox:

I know it's a bit late, but can we do a quick Facebook fundraising push for Stoneboat? I'll do the polar bear plunge if we can raise $100. Highest contributor gets a free T-shirt?


First of all, for those of you who aren't from around these parts, the Polar Bear Plunge is essentially this:

Swarms of courageous idiots take a dip in frigid Lake Michigan on New Year's Day. Our community, Sheboygan, has a pretty big annual Polar Plunge event; for Rob, having to stand in a crowd with all those people is probably going to be more uncomfortable than the swimming. (All the more reason we ought to donate enough to make him do it...)

If we can raise $100 in donations by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31, Rob will Polar Bear Plunge on Wednesday. He'll wear a Stoneboat shirt while doing it, and we'll make him take a copy of the current issue into the water with him so that he can wave it around over his head and stand out from the herd. Plus, I'll be on the shore taking lots of pictures. Trust me, you want to see this.

To donate, click on the button at the bottom of this post. You can either use PayPal or your credit card to make a donation. Every dollar counts, and all donations will go directly towards general operating costs -- printing, web hosting, postage, submission manager membership, etc. The donor who gives the largest amount will receive a free t-shirt of his/her choice from the Stoneboat store, so there's also that little nugget...

If only 20 of our 320+ Facebook fans donate $5 each, we can make this a reality. Come on, people. Imagine the YouTube video. Imagine the photos. Imagine the curse words. It's going to be glorious.

Update: As of 8:00 p.m. on Sunday night, we've already met our $100 goal.  Thank you so much to all of our generous contributors! We have decided to raise the stakes a bit. If we are able to raise $250 by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday night, Signe will join Rob in the Polar Plunge. As before, click the button below to contribute.