Over the course of the past week, the McMaster Marauders and Mac Athletes Care launched their annual #Thinkpink campaign in an effort to raise funds, and spread awareness around breast cancer. With all proceeds going to the Bright Run, and the Juravinski Cancer Centre located in Hamilton, the Marauders were able to collect a total of $5,400 over the course of a week.
 
Each year a student-athlete within Mac Athletes Care is given the opportunity to lead the initiative, and this season the task fell to fifth-year women's soccer player Claudia Continenza.
 
"This is my first time running it, I've been a [Mac Athletes Care] rep since my first year, and now I get the chance to lead it in my final year", explained Continenza.
 
Starting much of the work since August, Continenza's goal this year has been to promote awareness, and a sense of fun, all while trying to minimize expenses to ensure a larger donation.
 
"This year we're doing a spike ball tournament, selling baked goods, and collecting as many donations. We want it to be fun, but we want to make sure we do more than just awareness, and have something to give back."
 
Raffle prizes have been donated from families who have been impacted by cancer, as well as alumni from various varsity teams. "It's nice to see them still be involved, and donate back to the school", said Continenza.
 
But the cause runs deeper for Continenza, who has felt the pain of cancer first-hand twice in her lifetime. At the young age of nine, Continenza lost her mother to brain cancer, and more recently, her former McMaster women's soccer head coach, Joe Valvasori, who passed away suddenly last April with gastrointestinal cancer.
 
"Since I joined the executive team of Mac Athletes Care, I always wanted to do Think Pink with my mom in mind. But when Joe passed away, I decided this is what I'm going to dedicate my last year to. It means a lot to me obviously, as a Marauder, but also as a person. Joe was more to me than just a coach, he was a friend".
 
Every year, athletic departments across each university launch their own cancer awareness programs in unison under the U SPORTS national Shoot for the Cure program that targets each member institutions athletic programs. Mac Athletes Care has made an active effort in customizing their approach to the event in recent years, by bringing the cause closer to home to give back to the local community.
 
"Last year we changed things up to see if we could donate the money to a local community", said Nicole Grosel, McMaster Marauders Coordinator, Community and Alumni Relations.
 
Grosel has looked after the campaign for the past five years, and was pivotal in redesigning the purpose when a student-athlete had approached her about the idea of bringing the cause closer to the community.
 
"That's when we partnered with Bright Run who work with the Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton. it's nice to stay close to home, and to tell our community partners that we're donating money for our local communities."
 
Connecting with current students and alumni has helped Mac Athletes Care reach that goal, and Continenza has been pivotal in its execution, an effort that isn't lost on Grosel.
 
"Claudia is amazing. It's fun cause the event stays the same, but each new coordinator brings their own spin to it. Her main goal has been to get all athletes across each sport involved, and to build more awareness. She's really been focused on raising as much money as possible, and you can see the drive in her – it's great to see."
 
The Bright Run, in partnership with the Juravinski Cancer Centre, have put on their annual family friendly 1km/5km walk or run event each year, dating back to 2008, from the inspiration of breast cancer patients at the Centre.
 
Since the first Bright run, 16 research studies have been funded by proceeds that have reached over $3.5 million over the last decade, and the Marauders, as well as Continenza, only hope to grow that total.
 
"In my mind, although think pink is just for breast cancer awareness, any advancement in cancer is good for all research. I hope that our efforts can make the difference, and that we can keep building awareness."