MATTAPOISETT — With temperatures reaching into the high 40s and low 50s, Monday, Dec. 25 wasn’t great for people wishing for a white Christmas, but it was perfect for those taking part in the 20th annual Helping Hands and Hooves Polar Plunge at the Mattapoisett Town Beach.

The annual polar plunge has become a Christmas tradition for many in Mattapoisett, said Helping Hands and Hooves Co-Founder Debbi Dyson.

“We have a lot of kids who live in town and the kids have grown up doing this every Christmas,” she said. “It’s been a great family event.”

But the polar plunge is more than just a fun activity, said Dyson.

“I think Christmas is a time for family and after people open up all their presents … it’s nice to do something for others,” she said.

The polar plunge raises money for Helping Hands and Hooves, a Mattapoisett-based non-profit organization co-founded by Dyson and Julie Craig that offers therapeutic horseback riding for adults with disabilities.

“We started because my brother wanted to ride … and we decided we wanted to give back to people who couldn’t afford to ride,” said Dyson. “We decided to help adults because once they hit 22, they get out of the school system and they have much less socializing.”

Helping Hands and Hooves is about “all the animals at the farm. It’s about walking dogs, visiting the chickens, eating fresh vegetables from the garden … we keep the same students [and] we become part of their lives.”

According to Craig, the money raised from the polar plunge helps pay for horseback riding lessons for students for the year. She added that participants don’t pay for the programming offered by Helping Hands and Hooves.

Back on the Mattapoisett Town Beach, people lined up along the waterline and prepared to run into the cold December ocean.

“It was pretty chilly,” said Mattapoisett resident John Kassabian, after a plunge into the water. “But better than most years, I gotta say.”

“Probably one of the best years,” added Mattapoisett resident Emily Murphy, who also participated in the plunge.

In previous “less popular” years, said Dyson, the Helping Hands and Hooves team has had to shovel out a path to the water.

“It jolts you awake, you get to see some people on Christmas morning and it’s for a good cause,” added Kassabian. “It’s a win, win, win.”

Craig said that aside from the fundraising aspect of the event, the plunge is “a great way to congregate, share some cheer and do something for a good cause. It’s what Christmas is all about.”