For Fairhaven High's 'Blue Devil Dip,' Special Olympics MA is bringing the water to them.

Matthew Ferreira, The Standard-Times
·2 min read

FAIRHAVEN — Though it had been a couple years, Fairhaven High School special education teacher and lead Unified Sports coach Angela Allaire never forgot the time a group of students proposed the idea of organizing a "polar plunge" fundraiser at the school, although the logistics made it too lofty a proposal at the time. So this fall when Special Olympics Massachusetts (SOMA) let instructors know there's now a way to bring the water to them, she knew the time had come to make some teeth chatter at FHS.

"It's called the 'Bear Force One,'" Allaire said of SOMA's new traveling water tank which resembles a narrow swimming pool, with a surface to jump off of on one side and stairs on the other for "plungers" to exit. Allaire learned of the Bear Force One Mobile Plunge Pool at SOMA's conference in October. "When they told us about it I was like, wait, this sounds like something we can do."

When and where

On Wednesday, March 13, 2:30 p.m., Bear Force One will be touching down in the parking lot of Fairhaven High School for the event, dubbed the "Blue Devil Dip." As of Thursday, there were 63 participants signed up between eight teams: Unified Club, Ambassador's Club, Girls Lacrosse, Boys Lacrosse, Softball, Baseball, the Fairhaven Police Department, and the Davis Boys. But even just days before the event, Allaire said the roster was still growing.

Special Olympics Massachusetts' " Bear Force One Mobile Plunge" tank, seen here at a past event, will be touching down at Fairhaven High on Wednesday for the school's first Polar Plunge event.
Special Olympics Massachusetts' " Bear Force One Mobile Plunge" tank, seen here at a past event, will be touching down at Fairhaven High on Wednesday for the school's first Polar Plunge event.

"Girls tennis just signed up," Allaire said on Friday, noting participants will be a mix of staff and students.

What's the money being raised for?

The money being raised will go to Special Olympics Massachusetts, which, in turn, acts as a funding source for local Unified Sports programs to purchase materials like uniforms, sweatshirts and the sports equipment used by Fairhaven High's unified track and basketball programs, Allaire said.

As of Friday, Allaire said $6,176.22 had been raised in total, far surpassing the set fundraising goal of $2,500. Allaire's own Unified Club participants, 11 students, have raised $3,457.22.

Scan the QR code on the flyer to make a donation to Fairhaven High's first-ever Polar Plunge event, to be held Wednesday. Proceeds will benefit Special Olympics Massachusetts, a funding source for local Unified Sports programs like Fairhaven's.
Scan the QR code on the flyer to make a donation to Fairhaven High's first-ever Polar Plunge event, to be held Wednesday. Proceeds will benefit Special Olympics Massachusetts, a funding source for local Unified Sports programs like Fairhaven's.

"I gave them all $5, and I know other teachers around the school have said, oh, make sure you tell them to come ask me — I'll help," she said. "Everyone's really onboard and excited about this."

Good times for all — wet or dry

With plenty of enthusiasm from within the school and throughout the community, Allaire hopes locals will stop by to show their support for this first-time Fairhaven High event.

"I think it's going to be a great event. I'm hoping people in the community will come to cheer people on," she said. "Our vice principal is going to bring a speaker and microphone, there's going to be music — it will be a good time for everyone who ends up coming."

Want to help?

To donate to Fairhaven High's Blue Devil Dip fundraiser, visit tinyurl.com/BlueDevilDip.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Fairhaven High's 'Blue Devil Dip' to benefit Special Olympics