Nate Simon, CEO of the apparel company 21 Pineapples, created a design for the 2022 Chicago Polar Plunge, the largest fundraiser of the year for Special Olympics Chicago and Special Children’s Charities.
It was a natural fit because besides being the company’s CEO, Simon also is an accomplished Special Olympics athlete.
The design has been printed on brightly colored T-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts and is available at www.21pineapples.com until supplies run out. A percentage of sales from all items the site offers will be donated.
The image designed by Nate features a polar bear named Shiver who is wearing a Hawaiian shirt — an image that fits perfectly with 21 Pineapples, founded by Nate and his mother Holly Simon in September. The company began thanks to Nate’s love of Hawaiian shirts with a mission “to change the way others perceive individuals with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities,” according to a news release.
“When I reached out to Special Olympics Chicago, I noticed that the polar bear was wearing a Hawaiian shirt. I asked how we could work together,” Holly said. “I thought this needs to be part of his life because he’s got a Hawaiian shirt on. It’s everything we represent: inclusion, friendship.”
She added that as a team, they “came up with the idea to make a shirt for Nate — and all the Nates — and to have them on the shirt with the polar bear.”
“I think of all the companies that have asked to collaborate with, this one is most special, the Special Olympics. … He could excel in sports and make new friends,” Holly said. “It literally gave him a place to belong. For us it’s always been such an important part of our lives.”
Nate, who lives in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood, has excelled in sports during his time with Special Olympics, winning more than 100 medals. The 19-year-old attends Southside Occupational High School and has competed through the Special Olympics program at Mount Greenwood Park since he was 8.
Basketball, track and field, swimming, boccie, golf, powerlifting, swimming and bowling are among his events.
“I (like) golfing because I am a gold medalist and bowling too,” he said. “My highest score was 250. I (also) have a gold medal in bench press. I’m very good.”
Holly said the program “pushes him to his greatest ability. …. He’s got a wall of gold medals. He brings people to the house and shows them the medals. It’s been an incredible journey of growth. We couldn’t have achieved that without Special Olympics Chicago.”
Nate picked the colors for the shirts to be sold and described his idea for the design to a graphic artist in Orlando, Florida. His mom said sales are going “incredibly great.”
He described the Polar Plunge as “cold” from the previous years he’s participated and thinks it will be bigger this year because last year’s in-person event was canceled. This year’s plunge is scheduled for March 6 at North Avenue Beach in Chicago.
They’ve participated in the event for the last 10 years, according to Holly.
“It’s crazy fun!” she said. One year they had about 50 people at her house wearing matching shirts who boarded a bus and went to the event, which took place on a day so cold they had to cut ice away to get into the water.
“We were in line to go next, and who comes out but Lady Gaga!” she said excitedly. “The only child she said hello to was Nate. … She was frozen, including icicles in her hair. She stopped to take a picture with him.”
Another area company founded last year has joined in the Polar Plunge fundraising effort with some special apparel.
Evergreen Park-based Lemolade will donate $5 of every purchase this month — including a newly designed shirt promoting inclusion — to Special Olympics Chicago.
Lemonade founders Morgan Winters and Nikki Harrington are no strangers to charity. They’ve been giving back to area charities each month since August 2021, three months after launching their company, helping fund organizations that turn “lemons into lemonade” to make life “a little sweeter for others,” they said in a news release.
This month’s charity is Special Olympics Chicago.
“We have admired this organization for a long time. We know a few of the athletes who have and continue to compete, and many of the coaches (and) teachers that work with this inspiring population,” Winters said.
Sweatshirts and T-shirts in sizes from toddler to adult are available at www.shoplemolade.com.
Inclusion is especially important to Lemolade’s founders.
“There is so much joy and power with inclusion. It is an incredible thing,” Winters said. “Being inclusive is providing equal access to opportunities and resources to those who might otherwise be excluded. Inclusion benefits everyone.”
Harrington called founding and running the company with Winters “an incredibly humbling and joyful experience. We are able to do something we love, still be present with our families, and give back to the community that has supported us.”
Other charities the company has donated to include Misercordia, the Salvation Army, Play Smart Literacy, Greater Chicago Food Depository, MarketBox Chicago, The Mulliganers and Y-Me Softball (which supports breast cancer research).
The Polar Plunge helps to fund programming and events for “thousands of Chicago athletes with intellectual disabilities who participate in Special Olympics programs through the Chicago Park District and Chicago Public Schools. Special Olympics Chicago and Special Children’s Charities also provide cooking nights, dance parties, field trips, arts programming and a cable access TV show, as well as an After 22 program that will begin in the next few weeks at Daley College.
Information about Special Olympics Chicago and Special Children’s Charities, is at www.sochicago.org, and information on the Polar Plunge is at www.chicagopolarplunge.org.