By Dave Malchak
Staff Writer
The St. Bonaventure University rugby community is running a fundraising campaign called the Forty for Forty campaign. The goal of which is to make $40,000 in forty days. It began on March 16, and will end on April 24. Both the men’s and women’s teams are involved.
Women’s head coach Clarence Picard said the campaign is to raise money for the general functions of the programs, including travel, uniforms, tournament fees, and recruiting budget.
“This type of support allows us to actively recruit young men and women to attend St. Bonaventure, receive a great education, and play rugby for the Bonnies,” he said.
According to gobonnies.com, funds will be allocated for salaries for top-notch, dedicated coaching staffs and recruitment for future St. Bonaventure rugby team members.
It is an online event, and the way the program works is through a tool called TeamRaiser.
“This tool allows us to both work with our alumni, supporters and current players to maximize our impact,” Picard said. “We are excited about more large gifts we anticipate coming in over the next week.”
Each player has a personal page at www.sbu.edu/rugbygiving. Picard said they can contact their friends and family asking for support.
Anyone can use that web address to donate to the Bonnies’ endeavor, where the current balance, percentage of amount toward total goal already received, a list of donors, brief descriptions of both the men’s and women’s rugby programs, as well as why they are asking for help, can be found.
According to Christian Artuso, a sophomore and next year’s captain, the fundraiser is on pace for $1,000 per day.
“However, the fundraising is always easiest at the beginning and gets more difficult the more time that passes. Because of this, we are trying to come up with a few more creative ideas in these last 25 days,” he said.
He also said it will have a big effect on the program because it is the first of its kind by any athletic team at this institution.
“It will set a precedent as a way to fundraise for St. Bonaventure, and as of right now, it is looking like a success,” Artuso said.
According to Eamonn Matthews, a sophomore, the team has been emailing their friends and family, reaching out to people to donate. He said social media has helped the process.
“I’ve actually gotten notifications from a lot of people I didn’t email, but they saw my post on Facebook,” he said.
According to gobonnies.com, in addition to online donations, it is also possible to help the cause via mail. The address is posted on the website.
malchada16@bonaventure.edu
