It's cold, but it's worth it.
That was the assessment by several Fulton High School students who participated in the Polar Bear Plunge at Stephens Lake in Columbia on Feb. 18.
The group of 10 freshman -- dressed as the "Average Joe's" from the movie "Dodgeball" -- raised $1,021 for Missouri Special Olympics by jumping into a cold lake in the middle of winter.
"It raises money for Special Olympics and is helping them do something they love, so you might as well give something up and jump in a lake," Dacrie Depping said of her reasoning behind participating in the stunt. "I love the atmosphere; everyone's happy, everyone's nice, the costumes are fun and seeing all the Special Olympics people join in was really cool too."
Teammate Brooke Baysinger - who had first talked Depping and several of their other friends into participating in the Polar Bear Plunge last year - said she first got the idea from her older sister, who coaches a Special Olympics team.