Colleen and Scott, the founders of Eileen In, have a daughter named Eileen, who has Down syndrome. From the beginning, they knew they wanted to raise both money and awareness for this cause—but they were determined to do it in the right way, knowing that an army of good-hearted people would join them. In 2019, Eileen In was born, starting as a small group of friends and family who decided to participate in the Polar Plunge to benefit the Special Olympics. What began with just 22 participants in its first year quickly grew to 170 passionate individuals, raising over $530,000 over the next six years. Along the way, Eileen In became Chicago’s largest and highest fundraising friends-and-family team, a title they held for several years in a row.