In the weeks leading up to Polar Fest 2021, the Detroit Lakes’ Boys & Girls Club team thought hard about how to creatively celebrate this annual fundraiser in the midst of a pandemic – not to mention the prolonged extent of sub-zero temperatures that dominated the region last week.
Typically, the PFP causes hundreds of families to gather around an icy hole in Little Detroit Lake in mid-February and applaud dozens of brave souls who leap into the frozen waters. This year, however, a global pandemic known as COVID-19 prevented such a large group meeting – so a different way of raising funds was found: Celebrity “Proxy Plunger” Duhamel. The Minot native, ND, agreed to jump into a lake of undisclosed area in support of local youth.
On Monday, February 8, Duhamel shared this video on the club’s Facebook page, reporting his enthusiasm for what he was about to do.
A little later in the week, he and the Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Patrick Petermann spoke to the local public access channel TV-3 about their reasons for agreeing to participate in Plunge.
His jump into the icy waters was recorded for posterity and released to the public this afternoon on the Club’s social media pages and on the website bgcdl.org. In support of their bravery, former divers and friends of the Club were encouraged to “dive by proxy” and make promises or post their “cold” photos on the Club’s Facebook page.
In return, the most prolific fund-raisers had the chance to win incentives like VISA Gift Cards, Club swag and items autographed by Josh Duhamel.
“He was an incredibly good sport,” said Petermann of Duhamel, adding that the actor not only shared videos of his experiences that led to the big leap with his fans on social media, but also signed several items for the club to use in fundraising efforts. of funds.
When the deadline for delivering promises was reached at midnight on Friday, February 12, the club raised more than $ 17,000 from more than two dozen “Proxy Plungers,” said Alyssa Hoskins, marketing and communications coordinator. the club.
“It’s more than I expected,” she said of the response to the club’s call for participants.
Duhamel gladly accepted the challenge of being the “Proxy Plunger”, as you can see in the video below. In fact, according to Petermann, he even did Plunge a second time, just for fun. He added that the outside temperature was actually -13 degrees – yes, that number had a minus sign on the front! – when Duhamel took the leap.
While the deadline for earning incentives like “Proxy Plungers” has passed, Petermann said that anyone who still wants to donate funds in support of Josh Duhamel’s Polar Fest Plunge and the Detroit Lakes Boys & Girls Club mission should do so, by going to bgcdl.org and clicking on the “Donate” button.
Polar Fest Plunge raises essential funds to support the hundreds of local youth who benefit from the programming and services offered at the Boys & Girls Club of Detroit Lakes.