January 25, 2025 • 7 mins
It's a perfect time of year to get snuggly and stay inside where it's warm - unless you're trying to raise money for the Special Olympics of New Hampshire! This year's Penguin Plunge at Hampton Beach is coming up in just a few days, and people are raising money to help SONH provide sports training and competitions for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Mark Ericson, the Senior Manager of Multimedia for Special Olympics New Hampshire, returns to the show to share details about this year's event and the upcoming Winni Dip in Laconia.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
We're right here. Each week we come together, we talk
about all the topics important to you and the place
where you live. It is so good to be back
with you as always. I'm Nicole Davis. Now most people
who know me know that I would much rather bundle
up through the cold than sweat in the heat. And
I am a firm believer that this time of year
(00:27):
is all about staying cozy. I want my warm drinks
and my fluffy blankets and big sweaters. I do not
want to go swimming outside. However, a lot of people
fundraising to support the Special Olympics New Hampshire are about
to do just that. It is that time again. We
are coming up to the Penguin Plunge in Hampton Beach
supporting Special Olympics New Hampshire. The people watching is going
(00:49):
to be epic. I promise you there's a lot of
people raising money just to throw themselves into the Atlantic Ocean.
Mark Erickson is the senior manager of Multimedia at the
Special Olympics New Hampshire. He's been here before. He's back
on the show and we're going to talk about this
year's plunge. Market is always great to have you here
with us, and for those unfamiliar, give us a quick
(01:09):
rundown about what you do at Special Olympics New Hampshire.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Special Olympics New Hampshire serves about twenty seven hundred athletes
in every corner of the state Nicole. We have about
seventy local programs, all run by volunteers, and we have
another ninety programs that are school based and provide unified
sports for athletes both with and without intellectual disabilities. And
(01:33):
the Penguin Plunge is our largest single fundraiser of the
year and this is sort of what makes the big
machine go in New Hampshire.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Obviously it's cold outside, so it takes a lot of
dedication to be able to throw yourself inside a body
of water when it comes to this kind of weather.
What do you think drives people to want to do this?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Oh? I think first of all, it is a great
cause and a noble cause at that, and we appreciate
all of our donors and our volunteers. And once again
this year, Coca Cola Beverages Northeast is our presenting sponsor
and they make an awful lot of things happen through
their generosity, but also we have as much fun as
(02:15):
possible with it. Every year has a theme. This year
the theme is Alice in Wonderland, so we're expecting a
fair amount of rabbits who are running late to an
appointment and a fair amount of mad hatters. We have
a big party in the casino ballroom, We do a
costume contest. There are prizes for all these things, and
we also we should say that the fund raising also
(02:38):
does have some certain milestones and if you hit some
of those milestones, you can wind up getting some pretty
cool gift cards and some other cool prizes and special
Olympics New Hampshire squag and all kinds of things. And
we do call it Plunge weekend these days. This year
will be the twenty sixth Penguin Plunge, if you can
(02:59):
believe that or not. And also we're up to I
believe it's the seventeenth high School Plunge. A number of
years ago we had to split things off because frankly,
we had too many people in the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom.
It was a safety issue. So that's when we broke
off the school groups and throughout the school community in
(03:20):
New Hampshire, and the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association gets
involved as well. There are these competitions between these high
schools and these groups of students are raising massive amounts
of money and doing just such a wonderful thing for
their fellow human beings.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yeah, for sure. And then you've got the Winnie Dip
as well. So we've got the Penguin Plunge weekend, and
then in March you've got a separate event for fundraising
at the Winnie Dip. Tell us a bit about that,
because I know law enforcement is big in that regard
as well.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, the Winnie Dip is a few different events that
take place about one month after the Penguin Plunge. We
keep with the same themes, so it's an Alice in
Wonderland theme, and we do the same thing in the
ballroom at the Margate Resort in Laconia, where we dress
up the room and we make it a big party
and we have some great food and a lot of
(04:13):
fun and a lot of prizes and and and in
the case of the Winnie Dip weekend, we have a
high school Winnie Dip. We have a community Winnie Dip.
We have the law enforcement Winni Dip, which is members
of law enforcement or law enforcement related so dispatchers, civilian
employees of police departments, that sort of thing. We enjoy
(04:34):
it when large amounts of police departments form a team
and everyone is all rowing the boat in the same direction.
It's a real good time. And then we have about
a dozen or so officers that participate in the Mega Dip.
We started this a few years ago and it seems
to have taken hold. So these officers raise massive amounts
(04:58):
of money during their fundraising and they dip once an
hour for twenty four hours, non stuff.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Oh, oh my gosh. They must need all the hot
chocolate in the world. I don't know how they do that. Wow.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Well, they may be drinking something. I'm not sure, hot
chocolate or not.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Whatever you got to put in it, that's fine too.
If you're going to be doing that, that's fine by me.
Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
The Mega Dip, the Mega Dip has become a thing
with a select group of officers. And no, it is
not for the faint of heart. It really is.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
No, I would say not. I mean, I've I've seen
Winnipesagi in March, and that is definitely not a time
I want to be in the water. But again it's
for a great cause, either at Hampton Beach or in Laconia.
And is there a certain threshold you have to raise
to get involved in this?
Speaker 2 (05:49):
For the High School Plunge, the threshold is two hundred
and fifty dollars and for the Penguin Plunge, the minimum
is four hundred dollars And when you hit that minimum,
you get your choice of a Champions sweatshirt or an
all being a fleece pullover or a jacket. And that's
where we start with the premiums and the incentives. An
awful lot of thought and effort goes into this. It's
(06:11):
a big effort at Hampton Beach. We close down that
section of the boulevard for the better part of the weekend,
and we also remind everyone that why you can't if
you're not part of the plunge, we can't make room
for you inside the casino ballroom, but there's plenty of
room on the beach for plenty of spectators. By noon
is when we start both days, and we try to
(06:33):
minimize the amount of time we spend out in the
cold and on the beach. So between twelve and about
twelve thirty five or twelve forty we will get everybody
into and out of the water. We get back into
the Casino ballroom at one o'clock, we do our awards
ceremony and talk to people about how much wonderful work
they have done and how much money they raise that day.
(06:53):
And we're done by two o'clock in the afternoon. Two
o'clock on Saturday, the Casino ballroom is a ghost. Two
o'clock on Sunday we're breaking down the Casino Ballroom and
getting ready to go home. It's not a huge time
commitment on either day, whether it's a high school plunge
on Saturday the eighth of the Penguin Plunge on Sunday
the ninth, And we remind everybody you can find all
(07:14):
the information and you can make a donation if you
can't plunge, but you can make a donation that's pretty
good too, if you go online to soo nh dot
org is in Special Olympics New Hampshire soonh dot org
and we have the Penguin Plunge prominently at the very
top of the page phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
I'm right there on the website now. All the info
you need there soo. Nh dot org market is great
to have you back on the show always, my friend,
appreciate your time and good luck with the plunge. Thank
you so much, Nicoll Okay, have a safe and healthy weekend,
and please be sure to stay warm. Join us again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
(07:52):
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
We're right here. Each week we come together, we talk
about all the topics important to you and the place
where you live. It is so good to be back
with you as always. I'm Nicole Davis. Now most people
who know me know that I would much rather bundle
up through the cold than sweat in the heat. And
I am a firm believer that this time of year
(00:27):
is all about staying cozy. I want my warm drinks
and my fluffy blankets and big sweaters. I do not
want to go swimming outside. However, a lot of people
fundraising to support the Special Olympics New Hampshire are about
to do just that. It is that time again. We
are coming up to the Penguin Plunge in Hampton Beach
supporting Special Olympics New Hampshire. The people watching is going
(00:49):
to be epic. I promise you there's a lot of
people raising money just to throw themselves into the Atlantic Ocean.
Mark Erickson is the senior manager of Multimedia at the
Special Olympics New Hampshire. He's been here before. He's back
on the show and we're going to talk about this
year's plunge. Market is always great to have you here
with us, and for those unfamiliar, give us a quick
(01:09):
rundown about what you do at Special Olympics New Hampshire.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Special Olympics New Hampshire serves about twenty seven hundred athletes
in every corner of the state Nicole. We have about
seventy local programs, all run by volunteers, and we have
another ninety programs that are school based and provide unified
sports for athletes both with and without intellectual disabilities. And
(01:33):
the Penguin Plunge is our largest single fundraiser of the
year and this is sort of what makes the big
machine go in New Hampshire.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Obviously it's cold outside, so it takes a lot of
dedication to be able to throw yourself inside a body
of water when it comes to this kind of weather.
What do you think drives people to want to do this?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Oh? I think first of all, it is a great
cause and a noble cause at that, and we appreciate
all of our donors and our volunteers. And once again
this year, Coca Cola Beverages Northeast is our presenting sponsor
and they make an awful lot of things happen through
their generosity, but also we have as much fun as
(02:15):
possible with it. Every year has a theme. This year
the theme is Alice in Wonderland, so we're expecting a
fair amount of rabbits who are running late to an
appointment and a fair amount of mad hatters. We have
a big party in the casino ballroom, We do a
costume contest. There are prizes for all these things, and
we also we should say that the fund raising also
(02:38):
does have some certain milestones and if you hit some
of those milestones, you can wind up getting some pretty
cool gift cards and some other cool prizes and special
Olympics New Hampshire squag and all kinds of things. And
we do call it Plunge weekend these days. This year
will be the twenty sixth Penguin Plunge, if you can
(02:59):
believe that or not. And also we're up to I
believe it's the seventeenth high School Plunge. A number of
years ago we had to split things off because frankly,
we had too many people in the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom.
It was a safety issue. So that's when we broke
off the school groups and throughout the school community in
(03:20):
New Hampshire, and the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association gets
involved as well. There are these competitions between these high
schools and these groups of students are raising massive amounts
of money and doing just such a wonderful thing for
their fellow human beings.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yeah, for sure. And then you've got the Winnie Dip
as well. So we've got the Penguin Plunge weekend, and
then in March you've got a separate event for fundraising
at the Winnie Dip. Tell us a bit about that,
because I know law enforcement is big in that regard
as well.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, the Winnie Dip is a few different events that
take place about one month after the Penguin Plunge. We
keep with the same themes, so it's an Alice in
Wonderland theme, and we do the same thing in the
ballroom at the Margate Resort in Laconia, where we dress
up the room and we make it a big party
and we have some great food and a lot of
(04:13):
fun and a lot of prizes and and and in
the case of the Winnie Dip weekend, we have a
high school Winnie Dip. We have a community Winnie Dip.
We have the law enforcement Winni Dip, which is members
of law enforcement or law enforcement related so dispatchers, civilian
employees of police departments, that sort of thing. We enjoy
(04:34):
it when large amounts of police departments form a team
and everyone is all rowing the boat in the same direction.
It's a real good time. And then we have about
a dozen or so officers that participate in the Mega Dip.
We started this a few years ago and it seems
to have taken hold. So these officers raise massive amounts
(04:58):
of money during their fundraising and they dip once an
hour for twenty four hours, non stuff.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Oh, oh my gosh. They must need all the hot
chocolate in the world. I don't know how they do that. Wow.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Well, they may be drinking something. I'm not sure, hot
chocolate or not.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Whatever you got to put in it, that's fine too.
If you're going to be doing that, that's fine by me.
Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
The Mega Dip, the Mega Dip has become a thing
with a select group of officers. And no, it is
not for the faint of heart. It really is.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
No, I would say not. I mean, I've I've seen
Winnipesagi in March, and that is definitely not a time
I want to be in the water. But again it's
for a great cause, either at Hampton Beach or in Laconia.
And is there a certain threshold you have to raise
to get involved in this?
Speaker 2 (05:49):
For the High School Plunge, the threshold is two hundred
and fifty dollars and for the Penguin Plunge, the minimum
is four hundred dollars And when you hit that minimum,
you get your choice of a Champions sweatshirt or an
all being a fleece pullover or a jacket. And that's
where we start with the premiums and the incentives. An
awful lot of thought and effort goes into this. It's
(06:11):
a big effort at Hampton Beach. We close down that
section of the boulevard for the better part of the weekend,
and we also remind everyone that why you can't if
you're not part of the plunge, we can't make room
for you inside the casino ballroom, but there's plenty of
room on the beach for plenty of spectators. By noon
is when we start both days, and we try to
(06:33):
minimize the amount of time we spend out in the
cold and on the beach. So between twelve and about
twelve thirty five or twelve forty we will get everybody
into and out of the water. We get back into
the Casino ballroom at one o'clock, we do our awards
ceremony and talk to people about how much wonderful work
they have done and how much money they raise that day.
(06:53):
And we're done by two o'clock in the afternoon. Two
o'clock on Saturday, the Casino ballroom is a ghost. Two
o'clock on Sunday we're breaking down the Casino Ballroom and
getting ready to go home. It's not a huge time
commitment on either day, whether it's a high school plunge
on Saturday the eighth of the Penguin Plunge on Sunday
the ninth, And we remind everybody you can find all
(07:14):
the information and you can make a donation if you
can't plunge, but you can make a donation that's pretty
good too, if you go online to soo nh dot
org is in Special Olympics New Hampshire soonh dot org
and we have the Penguin Plunge prominently at the very
top of the page phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
I'm right there on the website now. All the info
you need there soo. Nh dot org market is great
to have you back on the show always, my friend,
appreciate your time and good luck with the plunge. Thank
you so much, Nicoll Okay, have a safe and healthy weekend,
and please be sure to stay warm. Join us again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
(07:52):
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
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