Tradition lived on at The Storm King School when the entire school community united around a good cause and had some fun earlier this month. For the fourth year in a row, a group of SKS volunteers took The Plunge into the icy waters of the Hudson River to raise money for Black Rock Forest.

The Plunge is the culmination of a year-long fundraising campaign run by the Storm King Chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS). In the weeks before the event, NHS members collected donations toward the names of faculty and students who volunteered to “take the plunge.” The names with the highest donation totals were charged with jumping into the river.

The day of The Plunge–Friday, April 12– was cold and blustery as students, faculty, and staff made their way down to the riverbank at Cornwall Landing. The crowd watched, laughed, and cheered as the grimacing student and faculty volunteers splashed their way into the freezing water. The top five faculty members were the first to go in led by Dean of Academics Dr. Lance; followed by Headmaster Lamb, Dean of Faculty Mr. Freeman, and Science Department Chair Dr. Feffer. Next to jump in were the top five students: David Ma ‘19, Rory Tobin ‘20, Denys Bobchuck ’19, Bin Robin Hu ’19, and Carly Neville ‘22.

Before plunging into the river, Headmaster Lamb took a moment to thank the NHS, the volunteers, those who donated money, and all who participated in the event. “This is our fourth year of doing The Plunge, and our second year for Black Rock Forest. I want to thank everyone who participated–as organizers, donors, and river-plungers. And, if you think it’s too cold, remember the weather back in January,” he said smiling. This year, the effort raised over $1,700 toward research and education at Black Rock Forest.