“Chicken Coop” Raising Money for Plunging for Pink

Since its start in 2013, Plunging for Pink has raised more than $497,000 for cancer research at The Hormel Institute

AUSTIN, Minn. (January 25, 2022) – Plunging for Pink, one of Paint the Town Pink’s biggest events, will take place on Saturday, January 29 at East Side Lake in Austin at 12:30 p.m. Once again, community members are donning costumes, polar plunging in the lake, and some are putting themselves in a “Chicken Coop,” all to raise money for cancer research.

“I’ve had close friends and family that have battled breast cancer,” said Lindsay Bires, who along with her husband Toren has co-led Plunging for Pink for five years.

“This is one thing I can do for them and other people that have been affected by cancer… Hopefully one day we will find a cure.”

Bires and her husband Toren have led the planning for the event since the 2017 Plunging for Pink. After this year, they will be passing the leadership roles to Jacob and Brittni Gross, who for years have supported the fundraiser.

The Chicken Coop was started four years ago as a fun way to increase fundraising for the Plunge as part of Paint the Town Pink. Organizers pick people – usually recognizable members of the community – to be in the Chicken Coop and set an amount of money that must be raised to see that person jump into the frigid lake at Plunging for Pink. This year’s Chicken Coop members are John Forsythe, Mark Ourada, PJ Connor, and Darren Carter, all from Hormel Foods.

After the Plunge at East Side Lake, there will be a Post Plunge Celebration held at the Austin Eagles Club in Austin with a silent auction, dinner and live music starting at 3:30 p.m.

Plunging for Pink started in 2013 and has raised more than $497,000 for Paint the Town Pink since then. Since it started in 2011, Paint the Town Pink has raised more than $2 million for cancer research at The Hormel Institute. For a list of all the 2022 PTTP events, visit https://pttp.hi.umn.edu/.  Thanks to The Hormel Foundation’s annual support, every dollar is used to support innovative research at The Hormel Institute aimed to accelerate answers to cancer.

If you’d like to donate to this year’s Chicken Coop members, visit their fundraising pages:

John Forsythe

Mark Ourada

PJ Connor and Darren Carter