Polar Bear Club Helps Out Frankfort Family

• UPDATE (8:48 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 26): A previous version of this article had an incorrect cost for the plunge. 

The Lakeview Polar Bear Club is helping out a Frankfort family with its annual Polar Bear Plunge at Oak Street Beach in Chicago on Jan. 28.

The Brya family is one of two families the club is helping out with its event where members dash into the freezing waters of Lake Michigan. The family's children--Bella, 5, and Liam, 2--both suffer from rare disorders.

Bella's nervous system was damaged by an arteriovenous malformation rupture—when blood leaks into the brain after a tear in an abnormal connection of arteries and veins—when she was 2 1/2 years old. Liam suffers from microtia, which is the underdevelopment of the ear and jaw, and Goldenhar syndrome, a condition that causes the incomplete development of the ear, soft palate, nose, lip and jaw. 

The club will be holding a post-plunge party at Sedgwick's Bar and Grill in Chicago, as part of the event. The party is $30 and includes all-you-can-drink beer, liquor and wine, as well as a variety of appetizers. Some of the proceeds from the party will go to the Brya family.

Polar Bear Plunge

When: 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 28.  
Where: Oak Street Beach, 1000 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago. The post-plunge party is at Sedgwick's Bar & Grill, 1935 N. Sedgwick St.
Cost: $20 if you register by 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26; $30 at the beach on the day of the plunge.
More info: Go to the Lakeview Polar Bear Club's website. Or visit the Brya family's website for information on how you can help the family out.