DEER LAKE - There was no ice on Deer Lake for participants of the second annual Polar Plunge to jump from this year, but that didn't mean the water was any warmer for the event Saturday afternoon.
"It was cold," Denna Krammes, 33, simply said shortly after taking the plunge.
As team captain for Russo's Pizza of the Mothers for Make-A-Wish Softball league, Krammes organizes the annual event to raise money for the local Make-A-Wish Foundation.
"We wanted to do something to benefit the sick kids," Krammes said. "If this wish is the last great memory they have, then we are thankful we can be a part of that."
Last year's event raised $5,000 as 60 people jumped into the ice-covered lake. This year, Krammes said 100 people were divided into two teams Saturday to take the plunge. No totals were available by Saturday night.
"It's for a good cause, it's for the kids," Judy Hauch, a league member who also took the plunge, said.
Hauch said a polar plunge was on Krammes's to-do list so she made it a fundraiser last year.
"It raised a lot of money last year so we decided to do it again this year," Hauch said.
Mike Russo, owner of Russo's Pizza, did not take a swim Saturday, but was one of about 1,000 people to watch the event.
"She does a lot of hard work for a lot of good reasons," Russo said. "It is just awesome what they do. They make a lot of wishes come true."
Participants raising $50 each received a 2012 Polar Plunge T-shirt and those who raised $150 also received a beach towel.
The Schuylkill Haven Dive Rescue and Recovery Team was on scene in case of an emergency as well as Orwigsburg and Auburn ambulances.
Participants and spectators were then able to warm up inside the Deer Lake/West Brunswick Township Fire Department where there was a chili cookoff, bake sale and Chinese auction.
The fire company donated its hall for the event.
"We rely on a lot of people doing good deeds for us, so we wanted to do a good deed for them," John Wagner, president of the Deer Lake/West Brunswick Township Fire Department, said.
According to www.wishgreaterpa.org, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Pennsylvania and Southern West Virginia has granted the wishes of more than 12,500 children since it was established 28 years ago. For more information about the Make-A-Wish Foundation, visit www.wish.org.