‘Freezin’ Falcons’ seek donations
PRESQUE ISLE – A team of Northern Maine Community College students and employees are turning to the Aroostook County community to help raise funds for a good cause as they prepare to take a “polar dip” off the coast of Maine early next month.
The NMCC group, appropriately named the “Freezin’ Falcons” to honor the school’s mascot, will be led by Dr. William Egeler, dean of students and a veteran of past polar dips. Egeler is currently recruiting students, faculty and staff for his team, which will consist both of members who will enter the water and others who will serve as “towelers” and watch out for the dippers during and after the swim.
The Freezin’ Falcons will travel to Pleasant Point on the coast of Downeast Maine Friday, March 5 to take a “polar dip” at 1 p.m. into the frigid Atlantic Ocean. This annual event, featuring around 100 dippers from colleges and universities in both Maine and New Brunswick, supports Maine’s Ronald McDonald House charity.
“The services provided by the Ronald McDonald House to the people of Maine, and especially to the people of Aroostook County, are vital. I am pleased to participate in an activity, alongside students and employees from NMCC, that will benefit so many individuals in such a profound way,” said Egeler. “Community service activities such as this not only benefit the intended recipients of the service; all who participate benefit.”
Among those taking the icy plunge this year will be Aaron Conroy of Presque Isle, a 2009 graduate of NMCC’s diesel hydraulics program and a current automotive technology student. Despite being involved in numerous activities over the past couple of years on campus, this marks the first year that he will be involved in the polar dip.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” said Conroy, who is the president of NMCC’s Student Senate. “I’ve known a lot of people who have stayed at the Ronald McDonald House. To me, this is just another way of giving back.”
Among the dozen or so NMCC students and employees joining Conroy will be senior nursing student Ashlei Look of Jonesport, who will serve as Conroy’s toweler. She is just one of at least seven nursing students from the college that will be taking part in the event, either as dippers or towelers.
“As a group, we chose to support this project because it helps people in the field that we have chosen,” explained Look, president of the Student Nurses Association. “Ronald McDonald House provides a safe haven for family members of seriously ill children. We really believe in what they stand for, and this is our way of supporting them.”
While this marks her first year taking part on the NMCC team, Look has helped at the event in the past while she was attending Washington County Community College. WCCC’s Student Senate sponsors the annual event, which has raised more than $130,000 since it was first held in 2000. The 2010 dip will mark the 10th anniversary of the event.
“The goal is to raise as much money as possible,” said Egeler. “You don’t have to look very far to find someone in Aroostook County who has benefited directly from the Ronald McDonald House.”
To support the efforts of the NMCC polar dip team and contribute to the Ronald McDonald House of Maine, individuals are asked to forward donations to the NMCC student affairs office, 33 Edgemont Drive, Presque Isle, Maine 04769.
For more information on the polar dip, contact Egeler at (207) 768-2792.
