Freezing for a good cause

To close out this year’s Kahnawake Youth Center (KYC) Winter Carnival, the 28th annual Polar Plunge saw 19 brave souls get dunked into ice cold water, and not just for the entertainment of onlookers and those who tuned into the many Facebook livestreams - although the entertainment was certainly not lacking.

Indeed, each of the plungers had filled out a pledge sheet and collected donations for KYC’s Travel and Exchange program.

“I think it’s a perfect way to end the Winter Carnival, and it was really fun,” said Karlijn Kronenberg, community and family events coordinator for KYC, who co-organized the Carnival with Cheyanne McComber.

Kronenberg’s participation on Friday was not her only time taking the plunge, which took place last Friday.

In 2021, as an intern at KYC, she took the plunge for the first time.

“I was very nervous back then, because I had no idea what to expect, and it was very cold that day. This year, I kind of knew what to do. I was still very nervous because it’s super cold again, and not being from Canada, these types of winters are not what I’m used to,” said Kronenberg, who was born in the Netherlands.

Along with Kronenberg were a half dozen or so other plungers from KYC, who, according to KYC executive director and polar plunge emcee Kyle Zacharie, had started working for the organization in the last year and were plunging as a rite of passage.

“Seeing the people around me doing it for the first time was even more fun,” said Kronenberg. “They asked me how it was, and my opinion about it. I was just like, ‘I don’t want to lie to you, it’s cold, but it feels very rewarding.’”

Rewarding is also what Kronenberg would call her first Winter Carnival as a co-planner. Although it was more work than she’d imagined prior to starting, she said she felt very satisfied with the last two weeks’ proceedings.

“I definitely got to see a lot of different sides of the event, and especially how much preparation goes into it. We start months in advance, and coming out of university, that’s something that I have to get used to,” said Kronenberg. “But that sense of community in Kahnawake, but also especially in the KYC, is so precious, and I’m just so happy to be back.”

As announced by Zacharie prior to the start of the festivities, the participants raised over $9,000 for the program, which will be sending 28 teens and chaperones to Scandinavia – with stops in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Estonia.

The plunger who raised the most money was Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chief Jeffrey Diabo, who brought in more than $4,600 for the program.

“I started with my own money, because it’s for the kids. I put in $1,000 and then I challenged others to meet it or beat it,” said Diabo.

He said a number of other chiefs did contribute funds: Iohahiio Delisle contributed the most, with a $2,000 donation, and Jeremiah Johnson, David Diabo, and grand chief Cody Diabo also pledged money; Ryan Montour also added a sum collected around the MCK office to the pledge.

“Every bit counts, because it’s for the kids,” said Diabo. “I’m grateful for them for supporting me and for participating in this, because ultimately, the kids are going to benefit.”

Diabo called his first polar plunge an exhilarating experience, although not one he would necessarily like to relive.

“When you go in the water, you get that little bit of a shock, but it was alright. It wasn’t as bad as people thought it was going to be. The more you think about things in a negative way, the worse it is,” said Diabo.

He said that he was quite happy with how much participation there was in the plunge and how much money was raised and hoped that even more kids from the community would be able to participate in programs like KYC’s Travel and Exchange.

“Personally, I would like to see them reach out to some of the less fortunate kids in the town who may not even participate at the youth centre for whatever reason, and give them an opportunity to get outside the community and really see what the world is like, even if it’s just through travel, because it’s a good experience,” said Diabo.

“I myself lived and/or worked in 13 different states over the course of about 12 or 14 years. I got to see a lot. I got to experience a lot. It gave me a whole new perspective and appreciation when I came home. I think that’s very important.”

[email protected]