4- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday January 3, 2009 www.oakvillebeaver.com Polar Bear Dippers raise $60,000 for World Vision By Melanie Cummings SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Canada and Rwanda are polar opposites. Sub-zero temperatures don't register in the tropical African country. Neither do plentiful sources of clean water. So it makes sense that such diversity is bound by more incongruity. The Courage Brothers 24th annual Polar Bear Dip fits the bill. On the first day of the new year since 1985, folks by u outt A A sk ab o y ty t ar our Par s o e rates Pass at P Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford Rates valid to Jan. 30, 2009 (fuel surcharge is applicable) Jetways offers daily one-way and round-trip airport shuttle transfers from/to, Burlington, Hamilton and now Brantford to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. (1-866-953-8929) the hundreds have flocked to Oakville's frigid Lake Ontario shoreline, flung off their togs to reveal skimpy garb and dunked their already goose-bumped bodies into the near zero Celsius water. As in the past, the 2009 Dip followed suit -- with tartan skirts, aprons, tiaras, polyester Elvis jumpers, banana peels, clown garb and more imaginative outfits that consistently attract 5,000 spectators to Coronation Park, to watch the annual antics. "How Canadian is this?" asked singer/songwriter Tom Cochrane, who did the countdown that sent the first wave of dippers into the water Thursday. Preferring a dip in a hot tub over icy lake water, the Oakville resident attended Thursday's event as a spokesperson for World Vision Canada, which has been the charity of choice for the founders of the local dip, Todd and Trent Courage. The $60,000 raised this year will cover more than half of the $117,000 cost to drill new wells, build reservoirs, and collect rainwater for the people of Kahi in the Umutara region of Rwanda. Cochrane has travelled to impoverished communities such as this, and seen firsthand the benefits of this fundraising effort. "Rwanda is a country in recovery, still facing the ravages of war, famine and disease. Clean water will truly save lives," said Cochrane. According to World Vision's Michael Messenger -- who ventured into the lake for the first time at this year's dip -- the CLAUDIO CUGLIARI / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER POLAR BEAR SIGHTING: Polar Bear dippers (l-r) John Smith, Carly Anderson and Chris Smith race back to the shoreline to get to warm after taking a frigid plunge in Lake Ontario at Coronation Park during the 24th annual Courage Brothers Polar Bear Dip on New Year's Day. Courage Brothers' event has raised more than $380,000 cumulatively over the years and directly impacted the health and economic well-being of many people from impoverished nations. Access to clean water also helps indirectly, giving children more time to attend school instead of walking long distances to fetch water. Oakville residents also sponsor more than 3,000 children identified in need by World Vision, added Messenger. John Strok was among the many who braved the water here, to provide water a world away. He fashioned a bedsheet into a mansized diaper to create his Baby New Year costume. The prize-winning outfit also earned him first spot in the line of nearly 500 bipedal Polar Bears. "The water was colder this year than I remember in the past," said Strok, who counts the 2009 dip as his third. "It's crazy I know, but a good charity worth supporting," said the Brampton man, who raised about $400 through pledges for World Vision. Thursday's event was a first for 18-year-old Josh Russell, whose friend, Jonathan Nadeua, 17, convinced him in an early morning phone call that day to walk into the icy water. Despite the initial feeling of pins and needles being jabbed into his legs, followed by numbness that turned them into stone within 10 seconds, both teens are keen to do it again next year, which will mark the Courage Brothers' quarter century anniversary for this fundraiser. "We promise it'll be one to remember, bigger and better," said Todd Courage. Online pledges can be made through the Courage Brothers webpage at www.polarbeardip.ca. Clicking on the `Donate Online' box, located on the right-hand side, connects donors immediately to the secure World Vision page. The SureSlim Method ~ NO Pills ~ NO Injections ~ NO Starvation ~ NO Packaged Food ~ ~ NO Shakes ~ NO Counting Calories ~ NO Excessive Exercise ~ ® A Happy New Year - A New You Start the New Year with a Healthy New Body! It's not you... 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