Holy dunkers: Shepherdstown Presbyterian pastor, members to raise donations with cold water plunge

Newquist
SHEPHERDSTOWN — This Saturday afternoon, from noon to 2 p.m., Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church congregants will be crowding the shore along the Princess Street Boat Ramp to witness its pastor, Rev. Gusti Newquist, and five fellow congregants, dip into the Potomac River’s chilly depths for a good cause.
Each participant in the Holy Dunkers Fundraiser is helping to raise donations, to fund the purchase of native plants for Shepherdstown’s second Habitat for Humanity build, which is currently under construction in Sage Place. Potential sponsors and additional dunkers can contact church secretary Lynn Dampman for information, at lynn@shepherdstownpresbyterian.org or (304) 876-6466. Donations of any amount are appreciated, especially since all of the donations are being matched by a sponsor from the church.
“People can donate however much they want! Some people have donated to one person doing the dunking, some have donated to the entire fundraiser and some have donated a certain amount to each person doing the dunking,” said Holy Dunkers Fundraiser organizer Chris Madeo in a phone interview Tuesday evening. “We appreciated any donation that people feel like they can afford.”
According to Madeo, the ages of the fundraiser participants is wide-ranging, with dunkers as young as seven-years-old participating, with parental permission.
“They’ll all be dipping in the river,” Madeo said, mentioning participants originally were given the choice of dunking or pouring a bucket of ice water over their heads. “It’s up to them, how far they submerge themselves. If they want to go in waist deep, that’s fine. If they want to go in shoulder deep, that’s fine. If they want to go under totally, that’s up to them! I think it’s enough that they’re willing to go in that water!”
The fundraiser inspiration first came to Madeo earlier this year, after seeing a news item about the Chesapeake Climate Action Network’s annual Polar Bear Plunge in the Potomac River on Feb. 12, which raised $4,841 to support CCAN’s climate work. Madeo mentioned it in an email to Newquist and a few other church members, and immediately received a thumbs-up from Newquist for inclusion in the fundraiser.
“It was a suggestion, based on a fundraiser that this climate action network does every year. And then Pastor Gusti Newquist said, ‘I’ll do it!'” Madeo described, mentioning the fundraiser is being conducted, with support from SPC’s Earth Care Committee.
The decision to focus the funds on purchasing native plants for the Habitat for Humanity house was prompted by the book, “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard,” by entomologist Doug Tallamy, Madeo said.
“Our national parks aren’t enough to preserve natural habitats — we’re losing beneficial insects to extinction,” Madeo said, mentioning at the top of that list are pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, along with caterpillars. “Tallamy’s really pushing for individual homeowners or even renters, to convert their lawns into natural habitats, so that there would be more natural habitats for these insects, which sustain us all.
“The funding is first going to the Habitat House, for that kind of yard. And then if there’s any leftover funding, it will be used to turn our church yard into a natural habitat,” Madeo said. “If more funding is left over after that, it will be available for congregants to do the same with their yards.”