WILTON — Selectmen on Tuesday approved the use of Bass Park for a polar plunge into Wilson Lake on Oct. 26.

Danielle Flannery, representing Western Maine Community Action’s  Housing and Community Services, requested closure of the boat ramp from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the fundraiser that day.

The board decided Bass Park offered adequate parking without causing any disruption for boat owners. It’s also still close enough to downtown businesses for attendees to visit those.

The plunge, called Freezin for a Reason, is open to everyone willing to jump in and even those who aren’t, Flannery said Thursday. Those who want to support the cause but do not want to take a cold dip can register as a chicken and take pledges too, she said.

Fundraising is an additional task being undertaken by some WMCA employees but it’s one Flannery doesn’t mind, she said Thursday.

She said she likes the idea of contact with people through the fundraisers as she already considers her job as a mission. 

About 10 WMCA employees are adding fundraising to the job after the county budget committee was told earlier this summer that the local organization would raise a portion of the amount requested from county funds.

The county committee agreed to fund $40,000 for WMCA after they voluntarily offered to drop their initial request of $49,500 to $40,000 and raise the rest.

WMCA’s goal is to raise $10,000 per department. Housing and community services is one of five departments, she said.

A fundraising committee has formed and there have been several kitchen table meetings held, she said.

Flannery told selectmen that polar plunge organizers wanted to keep the event in Wilton because WMCA is in East Wilton. They thought the boat ramp area would provide more parking and the opportunity to make it “an event,” she said.

Now that the site has been secured, plans can be finalized but the committee hopes to include music and live performances, she said.

An after-plunge party, perhaps at a local restaurant, is also being considered.

Pledge forms and kits will be available Sept. 1 for the 2 p.m. plunge on Oct. 26. Flannery’s committee is working on a special prize for the person who raises the most money, she said.

The group has applied for matching funds from a local bank, she told the board.

A spring fundraiser is also being planned, she added.

Anyone interested in participating in the polar plunge, for a dip or as an entertainer, may contact Flannery at WMCA at 645-3764.

abryant@sunjournal.com