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Long Beach Polar Bears take the plunge for Make-A-Wish Foundation

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Make a Wish Long Beach Polar Bear Plunge 2016

Today was a blast. Met a ton of awesome people that all came together for a great cause... The turnout was crazy... I hope you all enjoy the video as much as i did making it! Thanks go out to Make-A-Wish Metro New York and Western New York, Official - Long Beach Polar Bears, Kerry Ann, my friends at the city of LB and my buddy Justin who helped out a lot today!

Posted by Jason Belsky on Sunday, February 7, 2016
Drone video courtesy Jason Belsky

Thousands lined the shores of Riverside Beach last Sunday afternoon to take a plunge in the icy Atlantic in the 17th Annual Long Beach Polar Bears Super Bowl Splash. The mild temperature and partly sunny skies drew people from around Long Island and beyond, most of whom helped raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“It’s really nice, but it’s going to fool a lot of people, because that water is still 40 degrees,” City Council Vice President Anthony Eramo said before taking the plunge with his wife and two children. “But what’s great is, because the weather is so nice, it’s such a huge turnout, and Make-A-Wish will make even that much more money.”

The event was co-founded by Pete Meyers and Kevin McCarthy, who went for a spontaneous dip on Super Bowl Sunday in 1998. They invited a friend, Mike Bradley, and his brother, P.J., the following year. In 2000, the Bradleys decided to make it a charity event in honor of Mike’s son, Paulie, who died of cancer in 1997, at age 4. Meyers and McCarthy said they loved the idea.

“We started it to make one wish — we’re at about 700,” Mike Bradley said. “It’s just taken off, like it has a life of its own. It’s like a snowball. There are [so many] people on the beach today. What more could you ask for?”

The Long Beach Polar Bears raised $450,000 this year through donations and sweatshirt sales, according to Meyers, raising its total since 2000 to $5.2 million, which has helped fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. Donations were still being collected after the event, the organization said.

Despite Bradley’s description of the icy Atlantic as “delicious,” many participants sprinted out of the ocean faster than they ran in. “Really cold,” said Five Towns resident and first-time plunger Felicia Capozzi, who dressed as a seal. “Like you-could-lose-your-limbs cold … hypothermia cold.”

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