SOUTH HADLEY – A crowd of nearly 3,000 spectators gathered at Brunelle's Marina Sunday to cheer on the 400 people who jumped into the frigid water of the Connecticut River to raise money for charity.
True to his word, marina owner Luke Brunelle rallied from a major fire that consumed the facility in July and hosted the fifth annual Leprechaun Plunge.
“You gotta be resilient,” he said while surveying the scene where thousands of people were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day a day early while raising money for this year’s six chosen charities.
It is a resiliency that also served the plungers well, who not only had to face the bone-chilling river water, but also had to contend with bitter, below-freezing temperatures and a brutally cold wind.
Alyssa M. Orcutt, of Chicopee, was drying off in the women’s changing tent and said she couldn’t feel her toes, but looks forward to taking the Leprechaun Plunge again to help support good causes.
“I do a lot of charity events, and I wanted to do a new one,” she said. “I expected the water to be cold, and because the air was cold, too, it wasn’t so bad going in. If it wasn’t windy it would have been easier.”
Laura B. Cadieux, also of Chicopee, said this was her second year participating in the Leprechaun Plunge and the second plunge of the year after the Penguin Plunge in Westfield in January.
“I love doing it, and I plan on doing it again,” she said. “This was not as cold as the Penguin Plunge.”
For Daniel P. O’Connor, of Holyoke, who made his fifth appearance Sunday at the annual event, his military training prepared him for the worst before hitting the water.
“I love this event and wouldn’t miss it,” he said. “Going into cold water was part of my Army training, so for me, this is nothing. The colder the better. Bring it on.”
Ray Morin, chair of the Leprechaun Plunge board, said the six organizations benefiting from Sunday’s event are the Shriners Hospital for Children, the Dana Farber Institute Jimmy Fund, USO of Pioneer Valley, Neighbors Helping Neighbors-South Hadley Food Pantry, the Joe Kareta Scholarship Fund and South Hadley youth groups.
Those who choose to raise money for the South Hadley youth groups, Morin said, “allow our plungers to support any youth group in our host town.
You choose the group, whether it be girls lacrosse, middle school band, high school art department or any other youth group in town.”
Last year, the event raised $92,000, and Morin said organizers were hoping to exceed that amount this year.
“It takes a lot of money to run this event, and 100 percent goes to the charities,” he said. “We want to top last year and raise more than $100,000 this year.”
Brunelle said the final amount raised will not be known until Wednesday when all donations are calculated. The money collected at the marina on plunge day, he added, is taken off the premises by armored car.
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