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Riverhead Plungers set for Saturday’s polar plunge

Gary Karlson is the team captain for the RCSD Plungers. He is shown here during the Superintendent’s Conference Day sharing information on this event.
COURTESY PHOTO | The Riverhead Plungers team captain Gary Karlson has organized a group of 20 district staffers to participate in Saturday’s polar plunge charity event.

Riverhead Central Faculty Association vice president Gary Karlson has organized a group of volunteers called The Riverhead Plungers to participate in the fourth annual Town of Brookhaven Polar Plunge set for Saturday morning.

Special Olympics New York, an organization for individuals with intellectual disabilities, is running the event, which consists of participants running headlong into the frosty Long Island Sound.

Plungers ask family and friends to sponsor them with donations. For every $400 raised, a Special Olympics athlete will be sponsored for the season. Special Olympics New York athletes train and compete year-round in 22 Olympic-style sports.

Mr. Karlson, a third-grade teacher at Roanoke Elementary School, said he decided to participant in the charity event about three weeks ago and 20 district staffers have since joined his team.

As of Friday, school officials said The Riverhead Plungers has raised about $10,520.

Registration for the free public event at Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai starts at 10 a.m., with the official plunge taking place at noon.

For more information, contact Mr. Karlson at [email protected].