Stepinac High School Students Will Again Take "Polar Plunge" to Support Special Olympics, Nov. 17

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Nov. 7, 2018 - PRLog -- Continuing a Stepinac High School tradition, students from the renowned all boys Catholic high school, will again brave the chilly waters of Long Island Sound to support Special Olympics New York by participating in the 9^th Annual Westchester Polar Plunge (Freezin' for a Reason).  It will be held on Saturday, November 17 at Glen Island, New Rochelle.

Principal Paul Carty, who will again lead Stepinac's contingent, said: "From the very start nine years ago when the Polar Plunge began, Stepinac's students, especially members of the Crusaders varsity sports teams, have closely identified with and generously supported Special Olympics New York's cause of providing year-round sports training and athletic competitions for children and adults with intellectual disabilities."

He added: "Last year, 41 Stepinac students took the plunge and raised more than $10,000 for this great cause. In so doing, they presented a challenge for this year's group to surpass."

Stepinac's participation in the 2018 Polar Plunge will help Special Olympics New York achieve the goal of raising $125,000. Currently, the regional non-profit has 68,547 athletes training and competing year-round in 22 Olympics-style sports. The athletes and their families are not charged to participate. Fundraisers like the Polar Plunge help the non-profit to support the $400 cost of training and competition for one athlete for one sports season.

Th 2018 Westchester Polar Plunge coincides with the 50^th anniversary of the founding of the Special Olympics by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy.

Her inspiration for establishing the Special Olympics was seeing little justice in the way people with disabilities were treated. At the opening ceremony of the first Special Olympics in 1968, she pledged that the new organization would offer people with intellectual disabilities everywhere "the chance to play, the chance to compete and the chance to grow."

What began as one woman's vision evolved into Special Olympics International, a global movement that today serves more than 4.7 million people with intellectual disabilities in 170 countries.

.

______________________________________________________________

About Archbishop Stepinac High School

Founded in 1948, Archbishop Stepinac High School's mission is to offer young men a highly competitive academic and extracurricular program that will prepare them for college and leadership roles.  The faculty and staff accomplish these objectives by pursuing excellence and creating a supportive, disciplined atmosphere with a strong sense of camaraderie and Christian values that are unique to the Stepinac experience.  For more information on Stepinac High School please visit www.stepinac.org.