Polar Bear Dip

For 34 years, brave souls have been gathering on the shores of Lake Ontario in Oakville to jump into the freezing water on New Years Day, all for a good cause. Last year, the annual Courage Polar Bear Dip was cancelled due to the extreme cold.

Most people opt to stay warm in their PJ’s and lounge on the couch New Years Day, but not for 700 thrill-seekers, who literally did the polar opposite of that today.

The Annual Polar Bear Dip in Oakville was started 34 years ago by two brothers, Todd and Trent Courage. Now, more than three decades later, the Courage family has raised more than $1,700,000 for clean water projects through a partnership with world vision.

This year, the money will go toward projects that will supply clean drinking water to Iraq and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They reached their fundraising goal of $120,000.

By Canadian standards, today was not a particularly cold day, but for some, it was a little brisk.