Luke and Naomi On Air

For the past couple of years, Luke and Naomi have been doing their own “not-so-polar” plunge. This year, we’re asking you to join in on the fun!

Since 2023, we have been making the crazy jump into the Atlantic Ocean on New Year’s Day to kick off the New Year. It started after hearing about a local polar plunge going on that was raising money for the Special Olympics. We signed up to be a part of this event, paid our registration fee, and were ready! Unfortunately, there were some logisitcs issues and the bus that was scheduled to take us (and other participants) from our parking area to the actual plunge didn’t arrive.

Instead of going home and calling it a loss, we decided to head to our local beach and jump in anyway. We were already dressed for the occasion, so why not?!

This started a new tradition in the Luke and Naomi household. Every New Year’s Day, we jump into the Atlantic Ocean, wash away the last year, and bring in the new. After that first plunge, we started inviting friends to join in with us.

In 2024 we had a handful of people ready to dive in:

And the fun continued for 2025:

But now, as we get ready for 2026, we’re making a bigger splash. Each year, we suggest you donate to a charity near-and-dear to your heart and watch our plunge video. This year, we’re hoping to raise funds for a specific charity: The Caribbean Surf Connection.

This is an amazing organization in the Dominican Republic that helps kids learn life skills and gives them a better life, through surfing. While we were vacationing in the DR earlier this year, we met Jorge, the organizer of this foundation and spoke with him about the issues these young kids are facing and what they’re doing to help.

It costs $175 to sponsor a child – This covers the cost of travel, food, and entry fees. And we would like to sponsor as many children as we possibly can!

There’s a million great charities out there raising money for kids and helping them get an education and food in their bellies, but this foundation is helping children learn skills to help them grow into adults and members of their community, and is keeping them away from violence and an otherwise complicated future.

We’ll be collecting donations through Venmo. You can send your donations to @Naomi-Lynn-34 (please include a comment that this is for the “Not-So-Polar Plunge” or a donation for “The Surf Connection“).

Please consider helping us raise money for this great cause. We’re asking you to donate and join our “Not-So-Polar Plunge.” Jump in the water with us in Wilmington, North Carolina on New Year’s Day, plunge in the water closest to you if you’re not in our area, or opt-out and watch our live stream of the fun!

We’ll start collecting donations now, and keep you updated as we raise money over the next couple of months for this great organization. Every dollar and every cent helps! You can also get more information on The Caribbean Surf Connection here.

And if you have any questions or want more information, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can send us an email directly here.

Let’s wrap up 2025 on a high note, and raise funds for this amazing organization!