Football Team Triples Charitable Efforts
September 30, 2013 - News Release
The University of Guelph Gryphons aim to raise more than school spirit at Friday's football game against York University. The team will solicit funds for the United Way and raise awareness of breast cancer.
One dollar from every game ticket sold to the general public will be donated to the Department of Athletics’ United Way campaign. Students, who are admitted to the game free of charge, will be asked for a donation. The game starts at 7 p.m.
Head football coach Stu Lang and several players will deliver more than 100 sandwiches and drinks to the Guelph Drop-In Centre Wednesday at 1 p.m. The Drop-In Centre is among local agencies supported by the United Way.
In making their donation, the players will forgo a post-practice meal. Brian Cluff, defensive line coach for more than 30 years, came up with the meal donation idea for the United Way.
Besides helping out a community agency, said Lang, “it gets the players realizing how fortunate they are to have something to eat and reminding them of the importance of helping the community.”
He hopes to repeat the event each year before United Way games.
Raising awareness and supporting breast cancer survivors has also become a Gryphon football tradition. For the third year in a row, players and coaches will sport pink at the team's October game to mark breast cancer awareness month.
The movement is led by Gryphon linebacker John Rush, whose mother battled breast cancer.
The Parents of Players group will sell pink Gryphon T-shirts at the game.
“It’s been growing every year in terms of our ‘pink’ presentation on the field,” Lang said. New this year: pink gryphons on the players' white helmets.
“Both the United Way and breast cancer awareness efforts fit well with our ‘triple victory’ message to our players,” Lang said.
“We tell them we want them to be a success on the field, in the classroom and as members of the community. We promote not just being great football players but thinking outside of their athletic talents to other areas such as the classroom and community.”
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt, 519-824-4120, Ext. 53338, or lhunt@uoguelph.ca; or Kevin Gonsalves, Ext. 56982, or kgonsalves@uoguelph.ca.
