Nearly 800 brave souls jumped into the icy waters at Portage Lakes State Park Beach for this year’s Polar Bear Jump, held on a sunny day with frosty temperatures between 27 and 30 degrees.

The annual event raised more than $162,000 for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank and is sponsored by the Portage Lakes Polar Bear Club — watch the archived livestream here.

Caitlyn Clark’s group, one of the last groups to jump into the water at Portage Lakes.
Caitlyn Clark’s group, one of the last groups to jump into the water at Portage Lakes State Park Beach, throw basketballs before they jump at the Polar Bear Jump on Saturday, Feb. 24. Credit: Sophia Lucente / Signal Akron
Nick Korora wrestles his way to the freezing Portage Lakes water during the Polar Bear Jump.
Nick Korora wrestles his way to the freezing Portage Lakes State Park Beach water at the Polar Bear Jump to raise money for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank on Saturday, Feb. 24. Credit: Sophia Lucente / Signal Akron
The St. Mary Team, including Ella Clark and Libby Shoemaker.
The St. Mary Team, including Ella Clark and Libby Shoemaker, holds hands as they jump into the water at Portage Lakes State Park Beach at the annual Polar Bear Jump fundraiser for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank on Saturday, Feb. 24. Credit: Sophia Lucente / Signal Akron
Adam Bradley and his group, “Crossfit Steels Corners," jump into the Portage Lakes State Park Beach water
Adam Bradley and his group, “Crossfit Steels Corners,” jump into the water at Portage Lakes State Park Beach in matching tropical shirts at the Polar Bear Jump on Saturday, Feb. 24. Credit: Sophia Lucente / Signal Akron
“Team Eva” jumps into the water at Portage Lakes State Park Beach.
“Team Eva” jumps into the water at Portage Lakes State Park Beach at the annual Polar Bear Jump to raise money for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank on Saturday, Feb. 24. Credit: Sophia Lucente / Signal Akron
Attendees gather at Portage Lakes State Park.
Attendees gather at Portage Lakes State Park to participate in the Polar Bear Jump event to raise money for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank on Saturday, Feb. 24. In total, they raised $165,000 for the food bank. Credit: Sophia Lucente / Signal Akron
The Courtney Hatfield Realtor group jumped into the water at Portage Lakes State Park Beach.
The Courtney Hatfield Realtor group jumped into the water at Portage Lakes State Park Beach at the Polar Bear Jump to raise money for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank on Saturday, Feb. 24. Credit: Sophia Lucente / Signal Akron
Tim Choog and Pat Forman bellyflop into the freezing water at Portage Lakes State Park Beach.
Tim Choog and Pat Forman bellyflop into the freezing water at Portage Lakes State Park Beach at the annual Polar Bear Jump event to raise money for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank on Saturday, Feb. 24. Credit: Sophia Lucente / Signal Akron
Participants in the annual Polar Bear Jump kick off the event at Portage Lakes State Park Beach.
Participants in the annual Polar Bear Jump kick off the event at Portage Lakes State Park Beach to raise money for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank on Saturday, Feb. 24. Credit: Sophia Lucente / Signal Akron

Editor-in-Chief (she/her)
Zake has deep roots in Northeast Ohio journalism. She was the managing editor for multimedia and special projects at the Akron Beacon Journal, where she began work as a staff photographer in 1986. Over a 20-year career, Zake worked in a variety of roles across departments that all help inform her current role as Signal Akron's editor in chief. Most recently, she was a journalism professor and student media adviser at Kent State University, where she worked with the next generation of journalists to understand public policy, environmental reporting, data and solutions reporting. Among her accomplishments was the launch of the Kent State NewsLab, an experiential and collaborative news commons that connects student reporters with outside professional partners.