ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — More than 100 people jumped into freezing cold water in Albuquerque Saturday. You might be thinking: ‘Why on Earth would they do that?’ Well, it was all for a good cause.

“Last year it was 38 degrees, and it was freezing,” Elizabeth Lecam said. “And this year I’ve gotten the guts and the courage to try the slide. I think I’m a little crazy, but hey, you only live once,.”

If she’s “crazy,” then so are a lot of people in the Metro. 124 New Mexicans braced the cold and jumped into 41-degree water in the City’s fifth annual Polar Plunge Saturday.

“We’re all going to jump in and we’re going to be freezin’ for a reason,” CABQ Pool Manager Joseph Quintana said.

That reason is Shanta Hanish. The City started the Shanta Strong Swim Fund in her honor after she and her mother, Laura, were murdered in 2019.

“She had a real big passion for teaching kids how to swim,” Quintana said.

Quintana explained that the fund helps provide swim lessons for kids who otherwise wouldn’t be able to.

“It feels really good to be able to do that in her name, because she was so passionate about it and [it] keeps her alive in that kind of way and it puts it all in a positive light,” Quintana said.

10-year-old William Padilla was excited to find out his ticket would help teach other kids to swim.

“I think people should take swim lessons, because that is a survival thing and like, it’s really fun,” Padilla said.

90 percent of the proceeds will go to the Swim Fund, while the other 10 percent goes to the ABQ BioPark to provide enrichment items for the polar bears and penguins.

From first timers to pros, people of all ages were excited to jump in.

“I will be taking the plunge for the first time this year,” Quintana said.

“I like to be crazy, and I like being cold and I like being relaxed,” Padilla said before he took the plunge for the second time.

Padilla brought his 7-year-old cousin, Angelo Albaz, with him this year.

KOB4: Did you convince your cousin over here to do it with you?

William Padilla: “Yeah, pretty much.”

Angelo Albaz: “Yeah. But I just wanted to because I’m also crazy.”

KOB4 checked in with Lecam after she took the plunge for the second time on the slide.

“Very fast and cold!” she said. “It was so fast that I started screaming because you just go around and around.”

This year, CABQ had a record number of participants with 124 people and was able to raise $5,865.58.