Hundreds bear the cold for the annual Penguin Swim

OCEAN CITY, Md. – On New Years Day, those who dared, put on their gear and braved the cold water, as part of the Atlantic General Hospital’s 26th Annual Penguin Swim.

“It’s very cold, you body goes numb, and you can’t wait to come in here and get hot chocolate,” said Emily Brozena, a participant.

“This is a day that we gather for the hospital to do something bold,” said Phillip Cheung, co-chair of the annual event.

“Be bold, get cold, jump into the ocean, and we raise money for the hospital,” said Cheung.

Organizers say their goal for this swim is to raise more than 80,000 dollars to help keep the nonprofit hospital and its programs running.

“Programs for education in the community, for health education as well as the expansion into the services and building infrastructures for our community,” said Cheung.

By helping these programs thrive, these brave swimmers say they are happy to start the year by giving back and get a fresh start.

“It’s always good to help out a cause and it starts out the new year right,” said Matthew Brozena, a participant.

“Luckily, the last couple years it hasn’t been that cold, and it’s been a good year, so hopefully we’ll keep that tradition going,” said Matthew.

Organizers say the event has already generated at least 48,000 dollars.

They say the event is also a chance to support the Ocean City Beach Patrol by getting more people interested in joining the team.