Almost seven years ago, on a snowy Saturday in February, we stood on the shore of the lake at Shenandoah Acres, watching campground staff use chainsaws to cut through four inches of ice on the lake's surface. They were doing it so that we and the brave people who had signed up for our fundraiser could JUMP INTO that lake, just a few hours later. And, as we watched the space being created for us (by chainsaws!), our collective thought was, "Oh dear. What have we done?"

We found out very soon what we had done. We found out that we had discovered an incredibly fun - if chilly - way to raise funds for VAIL. We found that there were many caring and daring souls willing to submerge themselves into icy water (in February!) for a great cause. We have found, over the past six years, more and more people to #DoTheDip each year. We have found ourselves amazed and humbled by the generous folks in our community who, every year, contribute to our Arctic Dip, by donating money, prizes, time, support, and certainly not least of all, a willingness to freeze for a little while!

And who, exactly, are those caring, daring souls helping out? We are VAIL - Valley Associates for Independent Living, Inc. - a non-profit organization that serves five counties and five cities in the Shenandoah Valley. Our staff travels tens of thousands of miles every year, through Rockingham, Augusta, Rockbridge, Highland, and Bath counties, and to the cities of Harrisonburg, Staunton, Waynesboro, Lexington, and Buena Vista. We serve a large and wonderful group of individuals with disabilities, enabling them to remain in their homes and communities by removing barriers to independence, and helping them and their families navigate complex systems.

We are so grateful for the support we receive from our community and we know full well that we could not do what we do without it. This year has been one with many challenges for everyone. VAIL and our consumers have been impacted to a significant degree. But, we continue working together, adapting to change, making the best of difficult situations, and providing important and necessary services.

This year's Arctic Dip promises to be as much fun (and as chilly!) as every other year! Since it's held outside, we feel that with some safety precautions in place, the event will be able to go on as usual, so there will be much laughter, cheering, and human popsicles as in the past! Won't you join us?