Despite the second cancellation of the Polar Bear Plunge, long-time participant Jane Whisfell raised over $500 to donate in its place.
Whisfell estimates that she’s participated in the Polar Bear Plunge for the past nine years, stepping into the cold water of Blue Bend in March to help raise the money for the Child and Youth Advocacy Center (CYAC) in downtown Lewisburg.
Whisfell put out a jar at her workstation at IGA to begin fundraising in January, not knowing the 2022 Polar Bear Plunge would soon be canceled.
“It’s just a pickle jar, one of the larger ones,” explained Whisfell. “I have pictures on it of me previously jumping into Blue Bend and pictures of who I’m [raising the money] for. When I put it out this year, I didn’t know they had canceled the plunge. People started coming in, telling me that they canceled it, and putting money in. They’re just wonderful, my jar filled up every day.”
By Tuesday, April 5, Whisfell raised over $500 dollars for the CYAC.
“I had $525, then two more people gave money,” Whisfell said. “People just kept handing me money, and I kept putting it in an envelope in my purse. When [the CYAC representative] came, I wasn’t expecting her at that moment, so I don’t have a final count. I mean, it’s overwhelming. I put it out in January, just right after the new year. People come up here in the summertime, they know I put the jar out, and they give me something. Sometimes, when I start my jar in December, I’m starting with $100 in it. The most I’ve ever raised is $1,000 one year.”
The funds were given to the CYAC on Tuesday. The organization’s purpose is to streamline and minimize the involvement of children in the process of investigating abuse cases.
Before the CYAC, when a child disclosed abuse to someone in a position of authority, such as a teacher, this was just the first step in building a case. The child retold their story over a dozen times, for police, social workers, nurses, doctors, a forensic nurse or doctor, child protection investigators, lawyers, counselors, and more, each of which handles a different aspect of a child abuse case.
Now, after disclosing potential abuse, the child is taken to CYAC for a specialized type of video interview that can be used by each organization, including the prosecuting attorney’s office. This is the forensic interview, conducted by a specialist forensic interviewer, once, in a room equipped with cameras.
“This is what it used to look like for a child when there was an allegation of abuse or neglect in their life,” CYAC Executive Director Staci Russell previously explained to “The West Virginia Daily News.” “Each one of the systems that [the child becomes] a part of operated in a silo, so they end up being interviewed or speaking to all of those different professions. [As] you can imagine, stories changed as they became uncomfortable with the process, … not to mention revictimizing them and making them tell their story over and over many times.”
The 2022 Greenbrier Valley Polar Bear Plunge was canceled with an announcement on the event’s Facebook page on February 1. The post did not offer any explanations and attempts to contact the organizers by “The West Virginia Daily News” have gone unanswered as of press time.
Whisfell hopeS the icy fundraiser would return for future years.
“I just wish they’d continue to have it,” Whisfell said. “I always tell everybody I’m a mermaid because I love the water and I love the ocean, [but] I won’t even go in Blue Bend in the summertime. I think it’s too cold. That’s why people really get a kick out of me going and jumping in [during the Polar Bear Plunge] in March. The warmest it’s ever BEEN is 36 degrees. It was 34 a few times.”
Even with the cancellation, Whisfell’s jar fundraiser continued. The jar has been successful enough that Whisfell is considering a solo plunge.
“They haven’t done it for the past two years, but I raised enough money that I want to go in the water,” Whisfell said with a laugh. “I went up there three times to go in the water. The first time, the water was hot. The next two times, the people that were meeting me didn’t make it, and I didn’t want to go in by myself. It just feels good for the body – I’ll have two days after [the plunge] where it’s the best I’ve ever felt.”
Jane Whisfell and the donation jar |
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