Johnstonians take the plunge for SORI

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As the seconds ticked off the digital clock at Sunday’s 42nd Annual Penguin Plunge held at Roger Wheeler State Beach in Narragansett, a man who was wearing a red-hooded sweatshirt that read “East Providence Townies” walked slowly on the sand and watched five teenagers race into the Atlantic Ocean.

“Now that’s real, real special,” said the gray-haired man, who was accompanied by a small group of people. “Those kids are really into this!”

Although he had no idea who the teenagers were, Johnston High School students Yuvia Morales, Phil Jessop, Allison Vessella, Molida Chan and Lauren Civetti were indeed in a select group Sunday.

For starters, those five teenagers were among the 18 JHS students who made up the only high school group at Sunday’s Penguin Plunge, which was postponed on New Year’s Day because of dangerous weather conditions.

Perhaps even more impressive that the JHS delegation, which was led by Physical Education teacher Peg Guilmette and included the Panthers’ Student Council offers, wound up donating upwards of $1,000 that will directly impact over 3,500 Special Olympic Athletes who compete in year-round sports programs.

However, it was those five JHS students “re-plunge” that caught the eyes of SORI President/CEO Dennis Jesus and dozens of spectators who turned out to support an event that is also known as “Freezin’ for a Reason!”

“Now that’s Panther Pride at its very best,” said Robert Civetti, a Johnston Town Councilman who turned out with his wife Carol to support the JHS students’ effort. “Oh, to be young of heart …”

Even DeJesus, who has been a friend of the Civetti family for years, was impressed when those five JHS students decided to re-plunge.

“They couldn’t have done that on New Year’s Day,” DeJesus, a Cranston native, said. “Today is really a great day for this.”

Although Sunday’s turnout for the Penguin Plunge wasn’t as large as it would have been back on New Year’s Day, the 2018 event raised upwards of $75,000 for Special Olympics Rhode Island and was held under what DeJesus called “almost ideal conditions.”

The sun sparkled and DeJesus reported that the air temperature was 46 degrees and the water was reportedly at 38 degrees.

Some 18 JHS students continued a tradition that Student Council Advisor/Teacher Greg Russo – who was unable to attend because he and his family were at a memorial mass – initiated several years ago as a school spirit builder and to show support for the highly-important SORI program.

A number of notable Johnstonians also showed up for the event, including Johnston Historical Society Vice President Dan Brown and his wife along with Building Designer Warren Lanphear and his wife.

Brown heaped words of praise upon the JHS students who he said “should be very proud of their efforts here today.”

As for proud Panthers like Yuvia Morales, who participated in her first Penguin Plunge: “Everyone told me it would be fun and it lived up to its expectations.”

Jessop said, “When you see people do this on TV you think ‘wow, those people are crazy’ but when you’re actually there in the moment with your friends running into the ice cold water and it’s for a charitable event, it’s actually an amazingly fun experience.”

Just moments after she re-plunged, Lauren Civetti whisked out of the water giving two thumbs up saying, “The Penguin Plunge is a really fun way to help our school become more than just about ourselves and to raise money for a great cause.”

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