Some 600 people gathered in Coronation Park, Oakville, Canada at 2pm sharp, 01. 01. 10. to kick off the new year with a refreshing and memorable dip in Lake Ontario’s freezing water. The Polar Bear Dip boasts itself as Canada’s Largest Charitable Polar Bear Festival, and the 600 participants aside it drew in several thousand visitors, who watched the brave volunteers holding their breaths.

Some used their inner strengths, others screamed or prayed, and yet others jumped straight into the water leaving themselves no option to avoid getting all cold and wet to serve a noble purpose. The water for water Polar Bear Charity Dip has been organized since 1995 raising fund to third-world water projects. Over the years, the charity dip has raised over $410,000 for various projects. This year’s grantee was a Kahi Water Project in Rwanda and a second project in Tanzania. This year’s amount was not only a new record: the increase in both the amount of participants and the amount raised was more than significant. Compared to last year’s 60 dippers and $55,000, this year the event saw over 600 participants, who managed to raise almost five times as much: $230,000.

“It was very refreshing,” Hamilton resident Michelle Pollington, 39, was quoted as saying. “I’ve been doing it since 1990 because my dad and I have been doing it since then. It’s all about mind over matter.”

“I’m so happy, I could almost cry right now,” Polar Bear Dip co-founder Trent Courage said.

“After visiting Rwanda this past summer and observing the tremendous need for clean water, and then seeing the difference in communities where donations to World Vision are at work, I am beyond ecstatic at what $230,000 will do for our brothers, sisters and friends in Africa.”

Polar Bear Dip in Oakville, Canada

The Kahi Water Project aims to help provide a dependable source of clean water for the people of Kahi in the Umutara region of Rwanda. By drilling new wells and building reservoirs, the Kahi Water Project will bring safe water close to the people who live in the community. The new water system will reduce the suffering caused by drinking dirty water and save children hours of wasted time, which can now be spent at school. According to Courage Brothers (the founders and organizers of the Polar Bear Dip), the benefiting project will help 22,00 people get fresh water — that will help prevent disease, keep children in school longer and provide families a better life.