Brave Souls Needed For Polar Plunge Fundraiser

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Rome, GA -- The Coosa River Basin Initiative is looking for a few brave — or just plain crazy — souls to jump in the Etowah River next month for a fundraiser designed to protect the region’s rivers, streams and lakes.

The organization is awarding a Yeti Cooler donated by Lindale Ace Hardware and valued at $250 to the supporter who raises the most money for CRBI by jumping into the river during the annual Polar Bear Paddle set for Jan. 9, 2016.

The event, sponsored by CRBI, Keep Rome-Floyd County Beautiful and the Rome-Floyd County ECO River Education Center, will include a 6-mile paddle on the Etowah River from Dixon Landing at Grizzard Park to downtown Rome.

The trip is free and complimentary canoes and kayaks are available while they last. Participants should register and reserve their boats online.

Local kayak angler Jim Ware and Woodland High School student Caliope Miron have already kicked off the fundraising campaign for the plunge, with the goal of generating $2,016 for river protection by the first week of 2016.

Those interested in taking the plunge and competing for the Lindale Ace Hardware Yeti cooler can set up online fundraising pages here.

CRBI is a 501c3 non profit organization and member of the international Waterkeeper Alliance. Its mission is to inform and empower citizens to protect, preserve and restore North America’s most biologically diverse river basin.

The upper Coosa River basin includes the Georgia counties of Lumpkin, Dawson, Fannin, Pickens, Gilmer, Cherokee, Forsyth, Fulton, Cobb, Paulding, Polk, Bartow, Floyd, Chattooga, Walker, Whitfield and Murray as well as Cherokee County in Alabama.

For more information, contact Joe Cook at 706-409-0128 or jcook@coosa.org.

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Photo: CRBI Advocacy & Communication Coordinator Joe Cook swings into the chilly Etowah during a previous Polar Bear Plunge. Credit: CRBI