Smithtown Children’s Foundation hosts third annual polar plunge
By Luciana Hayes
Saturday, March 8, Long Island citizens participated in the 2025 Polar Plunge at Smithtown Bay Yacht Club.
People of all ages plunged into the freezing waters at 2 p.m. to raise money for the Smithtown Children’s Foundation. The foundation raises money for local families in crisis, which includes bill playing, school supplies, adopting families at the holidays, groceries and much more.
Sponsors for the event include Adelberg Dentist, Saf-T-Swim and title sponsor James E. Hall from CPA Accounting Firm. In addition to the financial sponsors, Saf-T-Swim brought an extra ten plungers and the Hauppauge-Smithtown Swim Team brought an extra 33.
Christine Fitzgerald, executive director of the Smithtown Children’s Foundation, stated, “last year we did about $10,000 and we had about 125 plungers and I think we’re over that already today.”
The Smithtown Children’s Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing financial and emotional assistance for local families of the Smithtown School District. The foundation originally organized to raise money for a kindergartener diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma in 2008.
Since then, the foundation had raised approximately $1 million for the Smithtown community, funding medical bills, medical equipment and overdue mortgages. The organization also funded $20,000 in scholarships and continues to be a prominent and valuable resource for social workers.
The foundation is expanding beyond the Smithtown boundaries with chapters such as Tristian’s Wish, Smiles 4 Sean, Anthony’s Hope, Silent Night and Hart to Hearts. Saturday was the third annual polar plunge for the Smithtown Children’s Foundation.
Fitzgerald said the event was “really a great joint effort.” Many people and businesses donated to the cause, which led to the overall success of the 2025 Polar Plunge. Fitzgerald estimates the profits exceeded those of the previous year, which were around $10,000.
All were celebrating this joint effort and start looking forward to the fourth annual Polar Plunge.
