Polar Bear Club’s annual New Year’s Day swim raises thousands of dollars for Habitat for Humanity

New Year’s Day for many people means the dawn of a new year with new resolutions, and for some, it’s the day they go for a swim in Lake Ontario and support a local charity.

“For most dippers, it’s a spur-of-the-moment decision,” said Ian MacLeod, co-founder of the Toronto Polar Bear Club.

Hundreds of people clad in bathing suits and running shoes will run into Lake Ontario’s frigid waters today for the annual New Year’s Day Polar Bear Dip to support Habitat for Humanity Toronto. The dippers will take their chilly swim at noon at Sunnyside Beach. The event has already raised more than $15,000 for the charity, said Mr. MacLeod, and much more is expected.

“We never know until the day of, but based on web traffic and pledges, we’re way up over last year so far,” he said.

Mr. MacLeod and a friend, Mike Bonneveld, started the Toronto Polar Bear Club five years ago. Both are in real estate and have known each other since university and have been doing New Year’s Day dips for 20 years, said Mr. MacLeod. When they realized Canada’s largest city didn’t have a Polar Bear Club, they decided to link their love of chilly New Year’s Day dips with another passion, helping build homes for those in need. Combining the dip with a good cause brings a lot of people out, Mr. MacLeod said.

“Part is the thrill of doing it,” returning participant Jeff Bell said. “But then when all the money goes to a great charity, it makes it even more appealing.”

Habitat for Humanity Toronto gives poor families a chance to buy a home at an price that’s affordable for them and pay back their mortgage interest-free. Last year, the charity had 86 homes under construction in Toronto, Habitat for Humanity Toronto CEO Neil Hetherington said, adding that the funds from the annual polar bear dip have been invaluable.

Most Toronto families living below the poverty line are either in overcrowded apartments or damp, cold and illegal basement dwellings, and helping them buy their own home can break the cycle of poverty, Mr. Hetherington said.

According to Mr. Hetherington, who will lead by example and take a dip himself, the event will raise more than the already pledged $15,000. That’s enough money to build foundations for three new homes, he said.

“In a concrete way, the dippers are changing the lives of three families,” Mr. Hetherington said. “So we’ll have a good dip and some families will have a great life.”