Evanston Polar, Super Plunge Raising Money For Special Olympics

EVANSTON (CBS) -- Mary Pocuis will be taking a dip in the icy waters off Lake Michigan in Evanston—not just once, but once an hour for 24 hours.

The "elite plunger" is doing it on purpose on Friday and Saturday, for a good cause.

"We're gonna go run in there and raise money for Special Olympics Illinois and the athletes that we serve," Pocuis said.

The Special Olympics is the world's largest sports program for kids and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. Overall, the #beboldtogetcold campaign has seen 78,000 plungers who have raised more than $22 million. Pocuis said this particular plunge has been going on for 15 years. And thanks to her flair for adventure and her warm heart, she has been here for each icy plunge.

So by this point, she's a pro--an "elite plunger."

"We stay in a heated tent, and we're good," she said.

For 24 hours, 60 of her fellow elite plungers will leave that heated tent once an hour to do it all over again, but Pocuis has got her eye on the real prize.

"It's really not about me. It's about the athletes that we serve here in the State of Illinois," she said.

If you go to plungeillinois.com you can sponsor a plunger or make a donation to the cause.