About Us

Sadly, one of my saddest moments and proudest moments all in one. In September of 2008, the Groton School, where my son attended and played for, took on Lawrence Academy in football at their venue. It was a cold rainy day. That night one of their young players, Mark Frattaroli, and a fellow teammate decided to take a late-night trip to McDonald’s for a meal before curfew. On their way back they didn’t negotiate a turn and their car smashed into a tree killing Mark and injuring the driver. A few days later I thought it might be a nice thing to raise money for this boy and try and bring these two schools together. When I called Lawrence Academy to let them know we had some gifts, they invited me to speak at their LA Parent’s Night at the restaurant that Mark’s family owned on May 22, 2009, in the heart of Boston just yards away from the Boston Garden.

The inaugural Plunge was in February of 2009 with donations going to Lawrence Academy in the name of Mark Frattaroli. There were two plungers. Mad Dog (my daughter Maddie) and me. We were joined by Miles in year three and we’ve done it every year since.  His parents Anna & Filippo and three older siblings remain friends of ours today. Our first eight Plunges were called, The Mark Frattaroli Polar Plunge. In 2017, we changed it to the Keefe Family Polar Plunge.

-Ray Keefe