Sheriff raises over $1,400 in Special Olympics fundraiser
In just a few weeks, Floyd County Sheriff Dave Roberson, GBI agent Ghee Wilson and other local officers will be plunging into the icy waters at Lake Allatoona’s Acworth Beach to raise money for Special Olympics of Georgia.
Since he started raising money mid-January, Roberson has beat his $1,000 goal and is close to hitting $1,500. Wilson has $289 raised of his $500 goal, while the entire Georgia Bureau of Investigation team has beat their $8,000 goal by $633.
As of Wednesday, everyone participating in the Polar Plunge has raised over $76,000 toward their $117,000 total goal.
Locally, Rome-floyd Parks and Recreation puts on a Special Olympics program at Darlington School. However, last year’s event was cancelled due to the pandemic and this year’s program’s not looking too good either, the sheriff said.
“For as long as I can remember, we’ve had some assistance with Special Olympics locally,” Roberson said. “When I heard what the GBI was doing this year, I volunteered to do what I could to help the Special Olympics program.”
Polk County police detective Brandy Brady is also participating with Roberson, Wilson and the rest of the GBI team.
It costs about $110 per athlete to attend the event so the more money raised, the more opportunities can be given out.
Roberson hopes that the plunge will become an annual tradition for himself and the rest of the team over the years.
The event will be livestreamed for everyone in Rome and Floyd County to watch on Feb. 20 at 11 a.m.
The link to donate to the GBI team is https://www.classy.org/team/328513. The link to Wilson’s individual fundraising page is https://www.classy.org/fundraiser/3094391 and the link to Roberson’s individual page is https://www.classy.org/fundraiser/3084749 and all the money goes to Special Olympics Georgia.