Click here to view more photos from Plunging for Pink on Facebook.

---

Around 200 jumpers took the plunge Feb. 2  during the annual Plunging for Pink event.

The event, part of “Paint the Town Pink,” raises money for cancer research at the Hormel Institute.

Teams of jumpers each raise money in the months prior to the event, before jumping into a hole cut out of frozen East Side Lake.

In addition to the money raised by teams, raffle tickets, a free will offering meal and silent auction items are part of the event.

Some companies will also match money raised by their employees.

Organizer Lindsay Bires said a total amount raised will not be available until Saturday, when it will be revealed during the Austin Bruins’ annual “Paint the Rink Pink,” game. That game is scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m.

While she cannot say how much exactly was raised, Bires said it was a good year. The total amount will be a surprise to the community, the donors and even the event committee, other than Bires and her husband, Toren.

She said it was a good year in terms of attendance.

“It went really well. The weather was a lot better than last year, which helps. We had a lot more spectators out at the event,” Bires said.

The two became involved in the program after an original organizer left town and asked Toren to take over.

The two have been doing it for a few years and are always looking for ways to improve the event, Bires said.

“We always look for ideas,” she said.

The event is always well attended and a lot of people offer their time, items for the silent auction and ideas.

“It grows every single year, which is awesome, as the community grows more involved,” Bires said.

The thing that has kept the two going as organizers is hearing from cancer survivors, or the families of those who have passed away, and hearing how grateful they are for the work being done.

“It makes it all worthwhile,” Bires said.

While it is still somewhat of a blur, Bires said the best part of the event was the amount of silent auction items were donated. More than 100 items were donated.

She said they are definitely excited to reveal how much was raised and hinted that it falls somewhere in between $50,000 and $93,000, one of the best years the event has had.

Organizers are still counting up how much was raised as they wait for teams to turn in all their donations and for money that was sent to the Hormel Institute to be recorded and sent over.

The number of jumpers also increased, going from about 150 last year to 200 this time.

Among the teams of jumpers were the Dutchtown Jumpers, which include folks from Hoot and Ole’s Bar in Austin. Co-owner Hoot Enright said the team raised over $25,000 this year to put toward the research.

He agreed that the event went well.

“It went excellent. There were a lot of teams and a lot of people,” Enright said.

Work on next year’s event will begin in August.