Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Every year for the last two decades, thousands of people ascend to North Avenue to dive into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan to raise money for Special Olympics Chicago and Special Children’s Charities.
In 2020, nearly 5,000 people charged into the lake, raising a record-setting $2.2 million during what turned out to be one of the last major events in the city to take place before the pandemic uprooted life as we knew it.
But that wasn’t the case this year. Like so many other traditions, this year’s Polar Plunge was forced to take place virtually, with Sunday marking the final day of the weeklong event.
9:10 p.m. Student mental health struggles intensify as high schools remain closed year into pandemic
Sara Cawley, 16, a junior at Walter Payton College Preparatory High School, created a Google classroom for the school’s Positive Mental Health Association, a club she founded to allow students to talk about mental health.
Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times
When the coronavirus pandemic first closed schools last year, one Chicago mother watched as her son then a freshman at a public school on the North Side became hyper-focused on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s daily briefings, spurring disappointment every time he announced a delay in reopening schools.
Photos: Polar Plunge, pandemic edition at St Patrick High School suntimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from suntimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.