If cancer has you seeing red, come brave the frozen blue waters of Lake Zurich to raise money for the American Cancer Society in the Purple Plunge.  

Plunge participants form a team where the team collects pledges and plunges into the lake together, or they can take part as individuals or as donors. This year the girls’ track team and the yearbook staff will be participating in the plunge, as well Mayor Thomas Poynton. The plunge will take place at 11am on Saturday, March 7 at Breezewald Park followed by a Post-Plunge Party at Scoreboard Bar and Grill at 12pm.

“Come out and cheer on your friends, be there, support them. Like I said, there is going to be a big raffle going on,” Paul Hunt, event organizer and community member, said. “I think there’s about a dozen raffle items from a massage to little toolboxes to safes.”

Along with a raffle, there will be a costume contest, where a trophy will be given to the best male and female plungers’ costumes. Local businesses are donating certain amenities for the fundraiser, such as Raceway Car Wash, which is giving away 100 free car washes to the first 100 plungers and Koffee Kup, which is donating free hot chocolate and coffee.

Hunt created the Purple Plunge as an additional fundraiser for the Relay for Life of Lake Zurich, Wauconda, and Island Lake, with the help of the village and local businesses. Hunt and his family members have been actively involved with the Relay for several years and found inspiration to fundraise after the death of his mother-in-law to lung cancer.

“[Her death] inspired me to step up and not just stand on the side lines anymore. Everybody knows someone. It’s just too bad that we all have to know someone who’s dealt with cancer—hopefully they’ve survived—but in a lot of cases, it’s something that doesn’t always end like you want,” Hunt said.

Last year, the Purple Plunge had 50 plungers and raised around $11,000 for the American Cancer’s Society Relay for Life.  For this year, Hunt has a goal of at least 100 plungers and possibly raising around $20,000 dollars.

“[The money raised] is just a donation. We want you to raise money for the American Cancer Society. It’s a fun thing [to do], but any effort that can be made to help support the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life, that’s our goal,” Hunt said.

Registration can be done online where participants can join a team, create a team, or sign up to do the plunge individually for a $20 fee. If the participant is under the age of 18, he or she is required to have a parent or guardian to sign a waiver to participate. Each team or individual will then receive their own fundraising website where it will track their progress.

“[The track team] had a bunch of different possible scenarios that we could do as a charity, giving-back community service,” David Antczak, social studies teacher and girls track coach, said. “The Purple Plunge was the most accessible to us.”

Last year, the Purple Plunge removed about two and a half feet of ice in the lake to make room for the plunge area, which was about ten or twelve feet wide and 40 feet long. Inside the water, there will be two members of the rescue crew as well as the fire department, police, and ambulance on site. There will be a limit of five plungers as a time, according to Hunt and he recommends plungers to follow the guidelines for a safe plunge.

“I think I’m looking forward the most is seeing everyone else’s excitement,” Hunt said. “Just the faces and the reactions of these people when they get into the water are priceless.”