CCAN Polar Bear Plunge at National Harbor: Winters are supposed to be cold!
On Saturday, January 26, members of the 33rd District Democratic Club joined hundreds of CCAN supporters gathered at National Harbor for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network’s 8th Annual “Keep Winter Cold Polar Bear Plunge.” The annual Polar Bear Plunge is CCAN’s priority grassroots fundraising event and this year teams raised nearly $60,000 for the nonprofit organization.
First time “plungers” from the 33rd District Dems, Rusty Vaughan and Dan Kavanaugh, joined the group of over 150 swimmers, ages 9 to 71, which crowded the narrow beach to dash into the icy Potomac River. “It’s great” said Rusty Vaughan “to see so many people sharing in the growing awareness of climate change.”
Participants and speakers at this year’s event included Congresswoman Donna Edwards who was returning for her third dip in the Potomac for CCAN, leading U.S. climate
scientist Dr. James Hansen, one of the first scientists to alert the American public to the dangers of global warming, and the Reverend Lennox Yearwood, president of the Hip Hop Caucus.
“Winters are supposed to be cold,” said Mike Tidwell, Director of CCAN. “We can’t stand by as massive storms flood our cities and towns, causing billions of dollars in damage, and watch as temperature records fall across the country year-round. Now is the time to act, at all levels of government.”
