359 students from Alexandria, Brandon-Evansville raise total of $40,449 for Special Olympics Minnesota
The students participated in their Cool School Plunge events, which took place Tuesday and Wednesday, March 7 and 8.
Discovery Middle School students Tristan Mackowick, front, Zeke Furrer, middle, and Carson Fust react after jumping into a tank of cold water during the Cool School Plunge at the school on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. The annual event is a fundraiser for Special Olympics Minnesota and Discovery Middle School activities.
DOUGLAS COUNTY — This week, students from Discovery Middle School in Alexandria and Brandon-Evansville students jumped into a massive container of cold water during their schools' Cool School Plunge events.
The events raise money for Special Olympics Minnesota and this year, the two events raised more than $40,000. As of Wednesday afternoon, March 8, the total between the two schools was $40,449, according to their plunge websites.
On Tuesday, March 7, at their first-ever event, 39
Brandon-Evansville
students took the plunge, raising $5,929.
Brandon-Evansville student Dezmond White prepares for impact with the water during the Brandon-Evansville Cool School Plunge. The event took place on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
Contributed photo / Lisa Hynes
On Wednesday, March 8, 320
Alexandria
students took their turn jumping into the cold water. They raised $34,520. This was the fifth year for the Discovery Middle School event. Lukas Gotto, DMS teacher and event organizer, said the school has raised about $188,000 in its five-year history of doing the Cool School Plunge.
He also noted that representatives from Special Olympics Minnesota told him that the Alexandria school plunge is a flagship event and is the best school event in the state. Gotto said that he is hoping to be able to share the school's success at the national Special Olympics conference later this year in Chicago.
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Discovery Middle School students Tayla Plocker, left, and Gabby Lee jump into a tank of cold water during the Cool School Plunge at the school on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.
Lowell Anderson / Alexandria Echo Press
Students come up out of the cold water after jumping in for the Cool School Plunge at Discovery Middle School in Alexandria on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.
Lowell Anderson / Alexandria Echo Press
Students make their way to the exit stairs after jumping in a tank of cold water for the Cool School Plunge at Discovery Middle School in Alexandria on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.
Lowell Anderson / Alexandria Echo Press
Brandon-Evansville students Lauren Meichsner and Addison Stepan jump in the water during their school's Cool School Plunge on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
Contributed photo / Lisa Hynes
Logan Haburn, a Brandon-Evansville student, reacts to the cold water he jumped in during the school's Cool School Plunge.
Contributed photo / Lisa Hynes
Sydney Schaefer, a student in Brandon-Evansville, gets help coming out of the water after she plunged during the Cool School Plunge. The event, a fundraiser for Special Olympics Minnesota, took place on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
Celeste Edenloff is the special projects editor and a reporter for the Alexandria Echo Press. She has lived in the Alexandria Lakes Area since 1997. She first worked for the Echo Press as a reporter from 1999 to 2011, and returned in 2016 to once again report on the community she calls home.
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