Metro East Sun

State Rep. Amy Elik (R-Alton) recently warmed up to a chilly fundraiser.

The Freezin' for Funds event raised around $3,500 for the Alton Athletic Association.

"1st Annual Freezin’ for Funds today in Godfrey to raise money for charity," Elik posted on Facebook on Jan. 8. "Several brave (or crazy?!) people took the plunge in the lake. The winning charity was the Alton Athletic Association. Awesome job by the organizers with assistance from the Village of Godfrey and Godfrey Firefighters!  And no, I did not take the plunge."

The event went off well despite problems with the weather.

“To be honest, I think somebody is playing a joke on us,” Craig Lombardi, an organizer for the event, told riverbender.com. “It had been warm, now it was cold, but it was what we expected in the beginning. A lot of people had this on their bucket list and this was an exciting time for us to be able to help out a local charity.”

Cami Geirtz, a Freezin’ For The Funds committee member, also discussed the enthusiasm for the event with riverbender.com.

“It was very cold, but those of us who jumped were very excited about it,” Geirtz said. “This was on some of our bucket lists and now we have done it.”

The event was sponsored by the Alton High School Class of 1986 and had a $25 registration fee.  All registered guests at the event were given an opportunity to nominate a charity. At the conclusion of the event, an organization's name was drawn and that organization received the funding.

According to riverbender.com, several local organizations pitched in to help including the Salvation Army who provided hot chocolate, Mister Donuts who provided donuts, and Shivers who provided coffee.