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!

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 2011 at 1663 Columbia Road, South Boston, Massachusetts. Hope to see you there!