By eight years old, Joey Cerato had lost his grandfather to cancer and seen his father survive cancer.

At the age of nine, Joey wanted to create a charity to help those facing serious illnesses.

On a cold winter morning, January 1, 2006, Joey, now age eleven, saw his dream become a reality with Joey’s Plunge®. Joey took pledges from family and friends to plunge into the Atlantic Ocean, New Years Day, with the L Street Brownies in South Boston, Massachusetts. His goal was to raise $1,500 to sponsor a family to attend Camp Sunshine, a retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families, in Casco, Maine. Joey exceeded everyone’s expectations by raising nearly $6,000.

January 1, 2007, Joey’s Plunge® entered its second year. This year, he would have 35 other plungers join him, raising $21,000. Camp Sunshine, inspired by Joey, added five plunges of their own. Between Joey’s Plunge® and Camp Sunshine’s plunges, the idea of a nine year old boy, had become a $200,000 windfall.

February 7, 2008, another milestone was reached for Joey’s Plunge® and all its supporters. Joey signed the commitment letter for Camp Sunshine’s endowment fund, creating the Joey’s Plunge® Family Sponsorship Fund, with an initial investment of $37,000. Future plunges will be added to this fund, sending more families to Camp Sunshine. For every $25,000 invested, one family will attend Camp Sunshine every year.

Joey’s Plunge® had its biggest year ever in 2009, raising over $29,000. Combining Joey’s Plunge® with Camp Sunshine’s other plunges, a half million dollars has been raised thanks to Joey’s vision.

January 1, 2010, Joey’s Plunge® celebrated their fifth anniversary. 89 plungers participated, raising $35,000, bringing the Camp Sunshine endowment to more than $100,000.

Plunge season 2011, WOW… What a year. Joey’s Plunge® continued to grow, raising over $41,000 with 109 plungers participating. With a banner year for both Joey’s Plunge® and Camp Sunshine’s eight other plunges, another milestone was reached. Super Bowl Sunday 2011, the cumulative total of all plunges since inception, exceeded $1,000,000!

The 2012 plunge season surpassed $50,000 with the help of the New England Patriots.  Joey was runner-up for the New England Patriots Community MVP Award, receiving $10,000 for his charity.  As always, the plunge was only a success created by over 100 dedicated plungers participating.

Joey would have never been able to grow this event to what it is today without the help of some very special friends: Jim Laughlin of Life is good®, Adam Klein and Erin Callanan of Callanan & Klein Communications Inc., Hank Morse of Greater Media Inc., Mike Barry of the VFW in Westford, Massachusetts, Fred Ahern of the L Street Brownies, Camp Sunshine, and the love and support of family and friends.

Mark your calendar: New Years Day 2013 at 1663 Columbia Road, South Boston, Massachusetts. Hope to see you there!