Calgary Icebreaker Polar Dip raises almost $90K to fight human trafficking with

About one hundred people lucked out in Calgary on New Year's Day, with the warmest weather of the weekend as they did a polar plunge for a good cause.

Temperatures were hovering around the 13 C mark for the Icebreaker Polar Dip, a fundraiser for the SA Foundation, which raises money fora charityfighting sexual exploitation and human trafficking of women and children.

Among those taking the plunge was Sheldon Kennedy, a former NHL player and Flames alum who was abused by his junior hockey coach Graham James and has become an outspoken advocate for victims of abuse.

"Sunshine and no wind, ideal weather for a dip in a frigid lake," Kennedy told CBC News.

It wasKennedy's first time jumping in.

"I heard once that if you hit it quick, you can run right across it."

Kennedy says the event is closely related to the work he does with the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre.

"It's not just about human trafficking, it's about so much other stuff, there's addiction in there, there's child abuse in there, there's mental health in there, there's all of that and we need to be able to look at the whole picture."

Event co-founder Bernie Potvin says having the weather take a turn for the better really helped registration numbers.

"We're bordering on a hundred right now, about two days ago we wondered, Oh my goodness, what's this going to be like but no, it's a good day here."

This year's dip raised about $88,000.

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