It's one of the hottest, yet coldest, trends of Rochester. Thousands of participants are making a splash and a difference for Special Olympic athletes across the state for the annual Polar Plunge.

"This is the 24th year of the Rochester Polar Plunge," Special Olympics vice president of development and public awareness Renee Snyder said. "So we had over 2,000 people jump in that freezing cold water to raise over $350,000 for the athletes of Special Olympics, who train and compete year round right here in the greater Rochester area."

With participants from various groups, teams and schools supporting the cause.

"This is so important to us and other people at our school are so proud," Irondequoit High School student Amelia Reidmiller said. "We've raised so much money. You know, it's amazing to be here with, like, all our friends and everything is just so amazing raising that for the Special Olympics."

Some have made it a tradition, like participant Leslie Daum. Polar plunging since 2009, Daum has not let anything get in the way of showing her support.

"I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis, which is an autoimmune disease of the pulmonary lungs," participant Leslie Daum said. "Pneumonia isn't good, but I told my doctor, don't tell me not to do it because you know I'm going to. So I grew up by the Atlantic Ocean. So going in the water, it just comes naturally."

Despite the weather being on the warmer side, the water still had left some freezing for a good reason.

"I would have to say there's a lot more smiles today," Snyder said. "You know, when we don't have to clear ice off of that water for, you know, three or four days leading up to this event, it makes it a little bit more relaxing."

Raising funds and awareness for Special Olympics New York athletes, participants say they don’t feel the cold when you have the warmth inside.

"We live in this society now where we're stressing, especially with these school teams," Snyder said. "They're not only playing unified sports on the field and on the court, on the bowling alley, but they're also talking about inclusion in the hallways at the lunch table. I think the success of these events is a true testament to what we're doing in that school level."