A plunge is most useful for people who are in decision-making roles that can impact your community. Participants can vary widely, from members of your board of trustees, medical staff and key administrators to legislators and business leaders. The idea is to orient policy makers to the current realities of their community to help them in the decision-making process.

Anyone who would benefit from first-hand knowledge of the community - and would put that knowledge into action - is a plunge candidate. Plunges that bring together a diverse cross-section of participants create other experiences and purposes too, besides merely offering education about a certain theme in the community; they reflect as well, the strengths every member brings to the table, and the possibilities to effect change the plunge participants generate as a group. A minister, a school super, a board member, a neighborhood participant, a police captain - these are all great plunge candidates, and as participants of the same plunge their collective potential for community involvement and change is tremendous.

Todd Schurz, Editor & Publisher of The South Bend Tribune and Board of Trustee of Memorial Health System and Hospital, was not only a new board member but also new to the community when he was invited to participate in the Urban Plunge. "My first year in South Bend was spent learning as much as I could about the community. The South Bend Tribune, in order to be a successful newspaper, needs to be in touch with the community - the plunges offered a way for me to find out more from an insiders perspective," remembers Todd.

Plunge participants have a chance to learn through dialogue, face-to-face contact, and real community challenges that they can see through the plunge, not from statistics or presentations. The hands-on plunge learning style breaks down prejudices, myths, and stereotypes that often serve as barriers to involvement and change. Caitlin Hale, who plans to publish a new magazine for the Healthy Communities Initiative of St. Joseph County under the local Chamber of Commerce, and South Bend resident for nearly 15 years, said this after her plunge experience: "I realize you can't accurately talk about what's going on in your community until you've walked the streets and talked to the people. I learned a lot today."