MORE THAN $43,000 RAISED IN MARAUDERS FIRST GIVING TUESDAY CHALLENGE
 
HAMILTON, Ont. - The McMaster Marauder community rallied around its student-athletes earlier this week for Giving Tuesday, raising more than $43,000 towards enhancing the student-athlete experience, as well as providing additional opportunities for growth and development on and off the field.
 
The department far exceeded its initial goal of $30,000 early Tuesday morning, finishing the campaign with $43,394 (or 144% of its mark) in financial support from alumni, fans, family, community members, and anonymous donors. Supporters were given the opportunity to make a difference in a program of their choosing, as each of the Marauder teams had a funding page set up to collect donations.
 
As part of the Giving Tuesday challenge, the Department of Athletics & Recreation added $2,500 in incentives to help support teams in need and drive engagement in the initiative. The women's soccer, baseball, men's rugby, cross country & track, and rowing teams were each awarded an additional $500 for their efforts.
 
Financial contributions will be used to help to deliver program enhancements both on a team-by-team basis and also in broad, transformational areas impacting all Marauder programs.
 
"Building a culture of sustained success requires the support of many individuals - coaches, athletic trainers, administrative staff, professors, alumni and – of course – our donors" said Shawn Burt, Director of Athletics & Recreation at McMaster.
 
"We are so grateful for the tremendous support that our community showed Marauder student-athletes this week. Without the support of these generous donors, none of this is possible" added Burt.
 
22 different Marauder teams received financial gifts while 11 of those raised at least $1,500. The McMaster Swim team received the highest total, with $9,675 coming from 16 generous donors, which will make a massive impact in offsetting training camp costs for the program. The Nordic Skiing team, which returned to OUA competition in 2019-20, brought in $5,460 that will be used to offset travel and lodging, equipment and training costs this season.
 
McMaster alumni from all eras turned out to support fellow Marauders following in their footsteps. 1995 graduate and cross country alum, Dana Allen (Cunningham), recognizes the value in giving back to her alma mater.
 
"As a proud alumna of McMaster and the women's cross country program, I have fond memories of the many tough workouts at 10-acre field and the Oval" said Allen. "I attribute much of my success in life to the confidence I gained while running for MAC. It's for these reasons that I continue to donate annually to the team hoping that others will benefit in the same ways that I did."
 
And the impact made by lifelong Marauders like Dana is not lost on McMaster's current crop of student-athletes.
 
"At McMaster, we are blessed with an amazing group of alumni and community members that continue to ensure the student-athletes of today become the prosperous leaders of tomorrow," says Brandon Bernard, a third-year member of the men's basketball team. "On behalf of all of the student-athletes at Mac, we want to say thank you for your continued support!" 
 
In addition to individual team pages, the Marauder Priorities fund was developed for supporters to help ensure that McMaster student-athletes continue to be supported by world class mental health experts as they balance the many competing priorities in their lives.
 
Maximizing opportunities for equity deserving groups and increasing the diversity of its student-athletes, staff, and support networks continues to be a top priority of the department. 
 
Investigating additional opportunities around nutritional coaching, sleep consulting, leadership development, increasing access to wearable technology, and increased out-of-province and out-of-country competitive experiences will ensure the program puts distance between McMaster programs and their OUA/U SPORTS peers.
 
"These enhancements are critical to the success of all Marauder teams, now more than ever" adds Burt.
 
Nicole Grosel, Community & Alumni Engagement Coordinator, and architect of the Marauders Giving Tuesday campaign, was impressed, but not surprised, at the outpouring of support for McMaster student-athletes.
 
"The way that McMaster alumni, donors, friends and family came together in such strong support of our Marauder student-athletes on our first ever Giving Tuesday was simply incredible" said Grosel. "Funds raised will have a direct impact on the experience of these student-athletes and I know I can speak for all Marauders when I say how grateful we are for this support."