A jump for cancer: Seward's Polar Bear Festival raises funds, enlivens January days: Polar Bear participants must raise a minimum of $750, and the roster is filled months before jumpers hit the frigid water of Resurrection Bay.

• Author: Pounds, Nancy
• Position: Alaska This Month

The Seward Polar Bear Jump-Off is more than just a daredevil stunt. For many participants, the fundraiser for the American Cancer Society is a chance to contribute to a cause or commemorate a loved one. And for Seward residents and visitors, the event is the pinnacle of a weekend full of activities.

This year's Polar Bear Festival runs from Friday, Jan. 18 to Sunday, Jan. 20. Each year, on the third Saturday in January, about 100 people leap from a floating dock finger of the Seward Small Boat Harbor. Every participant has raised at least $750 for the American Cancer Society, turning in registration months beforehand.

Trained divers encircle the splash-down site, monitoring safety for the costumed jumpers.

"There's a lot of hilarity that goes into it," said Cindy Emery, Anchorage office manager for the American Cancer Society Great West Division Inc. "Everybody has a heartfelt reason to do it."

Emery, a two-time Polar Bear jumper, made her first jump in honor of a dear friend who lost his battle with cancer. Her heart ached for the loss. But Emery experienced a soul-satisfaction as she readied a costume and raised funds for the Resurrection Bay plunge and then as she stood, poised to leap and remembering her friend.

Emery also handles registration for Polar Bear jumpers, including many frequent fliers. She has served several years as a towel buddy, meeting participants post-jump with warm-ups. Emery has heard many stories in her eight-year involvement. "Some people will do just about anything to cure cancer," she said.

Last year the Polar Bear Jump-Off raised $163,000 for the area Cancer Society, according to Sarah Robinson, district executive director. The event brings in one-tenth of the organization's annual funds, she added.

For Robinson's first jump in 2007, she dressed as a bespectacled, lab-coat-wearing Cancer Society researcher to commemorate 60 years of the group's research.

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"I did it last year, and it was cold," she said. The air temperature was...