To fulfill their part of the fund-raising bargain, Hill and other jumpers will jump into Seward’s boat harbor Jan. 20 in exchange for sponsorships from family, friends, businesses and organizations.

Wearing a warm jacket on which her nickname “Splash” is embroidered and the collar covered in a variety of polar bear pins, Hill has been wrapping up her fund-raising effort this week in preparation for the event. Her goal is to raise $7,000. As of Monday, she had collected almost $6,000, had more pledges to gather and she anticipated additional pledges would come in before she heads for Seward the morning of Jan. 19.

Since the first jump was held in 1986, more than $1,150,000 has been raised for the American Cancer Society, according of event coordinator Marilyn Sutherland of Seward. Jumpers have to be at least 18 years old. As many as 100 can participate each year.

Sizable donations from several sponsors are pushing Hill toward her fund-raising goal this year — $600 from Sue Polis, $500 from John Crandall, $300 from Quick Draw H2O Service and $125 from Dots Sherwood. Loyal supporters, like the woman from Big Lake who sends Hill $100 every year, also keep her encouraged.

“I’ve had some people call me crazy, but over the years I estimate I’ve raised more than $30,000,” said Hill, who lost two grandmothers, two grandfathers and other family members to cancer.

Close brushes with cancer are the fuel that keeps Hill and other jumpers coming back year after year. Some are survivors; some jump in memory or support of loved ones. The serious side of the event is clearly present, and a moment of silence precedes the jumpers’ one-at-a-time entry into the water.

There also is a lighter side, thanks to the goofy costumes in which jumpers jump. Hill has hit the water dressed as SpongeBob, Strawberry Shortcake, a chef, the Grinch, a Nicoderm CQ stop-smoking patch and a tattooed woman.

Hill, in fact, actually has a polar bear tattooed on her right arm.

In celebration of her eigth jump, she plans to have the eight gold stars of the big dipper tattooed above the bear and a track of polar bear prints added around her wrist.

In addition to her nickname, “2005 winner” also is embroidered on Hill’s jacket. That distinction came after she was declared the No. 1 fund-raiser in 2005, single-handedly bringing in $6,835. That also was a year when the temperature was relatively warm, a rainy 40-something degrees above zero. The year before, 2004, was 30 degrees below zero.

Anticipation leading up to the actual plunge usually has Hill tossing and turning the night before.

“I don’t really sleep the night before,” she said. “It’s so cold. I know it’ll be OK, but if the wind’s kicking up, it’ll be nasty.”

In her early years of jumping, Hill tried to ease the shock that comes with being immersed in the cold water and emerging into even colder air with a little conditioning.

“I swam off Bishops Beach and took cold showers, but it really didn’t matter,” she said. For her, simply surviving the jump is the only thing that brings comfort.

According to a month-long forecast from The Weather Channel, Hill may be in for a not-so-cold experience. Seward temps were scraping their knuckles earlier in January, slipping down around zero, but area highs the day of the plunge are predicted to hit 31 degrees above zero.

The Gumby costume Hill is wearing this year is being made by a friend. According to Kate Mitchell, of NOMAR, the costume’s fabric is waterproof, raising Hill’s hopes that it will keep the water’s temperature from being too shocking.

A crucial part of her attire for the day — aqua socks — has disappeared, however, causing her concern about traversing the ice and snow that coats the dock.

With seven years behind her, that concern isn’t slowing Hill down. Nor does her uncertainty about the weather. The enemy is cancer, and Hill is a formidable foe.

“I may be freezing, but I get out (of the water) and in a second I’m already thinking about doing it again,” she said.

Donations supporting Hill’s participation in the Polar Bear Plunge can be made by calling 299-1966.