Lance Cpl. Rebekka Heite More than 390 Marines, servicemembers and their families plunged into the icy waters off Onslow Beach in an effort to raise money for the Special Olympics of Onslow County, Jan. 12. Team New River, as pictured above, lead the fundraising efforts with over $2,650. (Backrow, left) Cpl. Samuel D. White, Cpl. Melissa L. Meier, Cortlyn McElhone, Sgt. Jason W. Thomas, Chief Warrant Officer Carlos M. Alfonso and Michael Cline. (Frontrow, left) Kristi Andrus, Mike Rogers, Staff Sgt. Angela Mink, Kathy Zerba, 1st Sgt. Silvia Poynter, Jay Hill, Jack Satterthwaite, Cmdr. Jane Delory-Lytle and Lt. Christopher N. Beale.

Leading the charge in both motivation and fundraising efforts, 18 members of the New River community raised more than $2,650 -- more than any other group.

This is the second year Team New River has taken the plunge and team captain Kathy Zerba, the Station commanding officer’s secretary, sees this as the start to a worth-while tradition.

‘‘We’ll have a team each year and, with more advertising, hopefully our team will continue to grow in size,” said Zerba.

Jumping into the water takes a lot of motivation and isn’t for the faint of heart, but keeping in mind the event is for a good cause takes some of the chills away, said Zerba.

‘‘I’m amazed at how this year turned out,” said Dot Hochstrasser, Onslow County Special Olympics coordinator. ‘‘We appreciate both New River and the Marine Corps for their efforts and hope we can continue to rely on their support as we watch this event grow.”