The Chicago Polar Plunge presented by Jackson was a huge success!

The Chicago Polar Plunge presented by Jackson raises more than $2,000,000!

Thank you to everyone who took part in the 2023 Chicago Polar Plunge presented by Jackson! Thanks to your participation, generosity, and dedication, we have raised $2,076,000 and counting! We had an incredible day on March 5 at North Avenue Beach, with thousands of plungers and spectators joining us to support athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities in all 77 Chicago neighborhoods. Your efforts will help us provide important resources and programs for them this year.

Check out photos from the event

There is still time to make a difference!

Make a donation to help Special Olympics Chicago/Special Children's Charities support thousands of Chicago's athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Donate today

If you participated in the event, don't forget that you have through March 31 to fundraise! Hit your goals and earn great incentive prizes!

Check out our incentives

Thank you to our sponsors!

We want to thank all of the sponsors who helped make this year's Chicago Polar Plunge presented by Jackson such a huge success!

Looking for a spot in the 2023 Chicago Marathon?

Run with #TeamSpecialOChicago.

As part of our marathon team, you’ll receive a guaranteed spot in the race, a refunded entry fee after raising the fundraising minimum, fundraising tips and toolkits, a discounted training program, and the best race day headquarters and cheering section at mile 25.5! Best of all, as part of #TeamSpecialOChicago, you'll be supporting Special Olympics Chicago/Special Children's Charities athletes all across Chicago!

Check out what our athletes have been up to!

We have lots of activities and competitions going on this month!

Powerlifting

Congratulations to all of the athletes who recently competed in Powerlifting! This is one of our most popular competitions of the year, and it was wonderful to see everyone at Hope Academy giving it their all! We also want to give a special thanks to the family of Keith Tyler for coming out to help celebrate Brianna Lee of Bessemer Park, recipient of this year's Keith Tyler Spirit Award. Although Keith is missed, his spirit shines in athletes like Brianna!

Rock Climbing

Last month our athletes went on a very cool outing as part of our City Explorers program with the Chicago Park District. A group of athletes gathered at the Brooklyn Boulders in the West Loop for indoor rock climbing!

We love seeing them try fun new sports like this!

Alpine Ski Invitational

On February 21–23, 80 skiers along with staff and volunteers headed to Galena for the first-ever CPD-hosted Ski Invitational. Athletes from around the state of Illinois, plus Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Washington joined our athletes to compete in the slalom and giant slalom.

Along with competing, athletes had a lot of time time to practice on the slopes and everyone showed a lot of improvement.

Track and Field Time Trials

2,500 athletes participated in Track and Field Time Trials at the end of February. This training event is key for giving coaches accurate scores for athletes to participate in Spring Games in May!

Thank you to the volunteers from St. Laurence High School and De La Salle High School for helping make this event such a success!

Are you a Special Olympics Chicago/Special Children's Charities athlete who wants to join our classes and activities?

Join our list

CAN TV

Did you know that our athletes have their own show on CAN TV? Their crew joined us at our Evening Reception to interview guests. Their show airs on the first and third Saturday of each month at 9:30 AM. You can also view episodes anytime on Youtube.

Athlete Artwork Feature

Our featured artwork for the month of March is done by athlete Juliet Perez of Chopin

School. Juliet’s piece is titled “Swimming” and is perfect to celebrate the Chicago Polar Plunge presented by Jackson. Come and take a dip in Lake Michigan with us on Sunday! Thank you to Juliet for getting us ready to plunge.

Special Olympics Chicago/Special Children's Charities

2 E 8th Street, Suite 2M

Chicago, IL 60605

312-527-3743 scc@sochicago.org