Making a splash for clean water

Posted by Rich Schwartzman on February 21, 2016

More than 200 people — a record number — took part in the eighth annual Brandywine Creek Polar Plunge on Saturday, Feb. 20. They braved 39-degree water at the Brandywine Picnic Park to raise awareness and money for keeping the Brandywine clean, and had fun doing it.

Nick Puzzella, a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity at Widener University, was part of a team with his frat brothers.

“We’ve been doing this for a couple of years,” Puzzella said. “It’s for a great cause. It’s a great way to do some community service and have some fun at the same time. We don’t do it because we have to; we do it because we want to.”

Members of Kappa Sigma get into the swing of things before getting into the swim of things at the Polar Plunge.

When asked why he likes to jump into ice cold water, he simply said, “It’s fun to do. How many people can say ‘I did a polar plunge?’ It’s a great way to give back and have fun.”

Jim Jordan, the executive director of the newly formed Brandywine Red Clay Alliance — the entity that formed from a merger between the Brandywine Valley Association and the Red Clay Association last June — also thinks that telling people you’ve taken part in a plunge is a great conversation-starter, but the goal of the plunge is what’s important.

“It raises much-needed funds for our organization, but beyond that it really raises awareness for our natural resources, and that’s just as important because there’s a disconnect between today’s youth and the environment. What we’re trying to do is tell people the significance of the Brandywine and our watershed,” Jordan said.

The creek is part of the water supply system for Wilmington.

Sponge Bob Square Pants hangs out with a jelly fish.

Autumn Hart is a ninth-grader from Downingtown who was taking part in her third plunge. For her, it’s entertaining and represents a family tradition.

“It’s really fun to come out in the middle of winter and you get a rush when you’re all running in together. My brother started [the family tradition] with my grandfather and my uncle. They came out for a few years, and I decided I wanted to join in,” she said.

Her grandfather, 73-year old Jerry Kreider, said he keeps doing it because he’s a “traditionalist. We did the first one, so I’ve done them all.”

He said he doesn’t get any special thrill out of jumping into the frigid water, but likes the idea of helping.

“It supports the BVA [now the BRCA],” he said.

Green Lantern and Wonder Woman were there, too.

Cindy Jaros is the director of marketing and development for the Alliance. She, too, thinks the plunge is an enjoyable event, calling it “a great way to beat the February blues,” but the significance is raising awareness for watershed conservation for both the Brandywine and the Red Clay watersheds.

She said the money raised goes to offset the alliance’s education programs, which reach about 12,000 students in the region.

Individual plungers and teams raise money, and the plunge has corporate sponsors, as well. Among the businesses involved were the Manito Abstract Co. Inc. of West Chester, The North Face, Brandywine Valley Heating and Air Conditioning, Del Bittle Music, Brandywine Picnic Park, WSFS Bank and many others. Also sponsoring was the Longwood Rotary/Unionville High School Interact.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.