BY KURT MARTONE, NEWS ASSIGNMENT EDITOR
Enactus held its annual fundraiser this year, Canvas for a CURE at The Burton Hotel, after taking a break last year due to the pandemic.
The fundraiser had over 150 people show up, with 105 canvases painted.
The event cost 15 dollars for a Burton burger, fries, and a paintable canvas, or just five dollars for a canvas. Raffle tickets were sold; organizers also gave away baskets and door prizes. The painted canvases collected from the event are sent to Golisanos Childrens Hospital in Rochester, while the money that is donated is sent to the CURE Foundation.
The CURE Foundation provides financial assistance for families dealing with cancer diagnoses.
“They help with anything, like if their child is having an extended treatment, and they’ll pay for the parking passes because it adds up pretty fast,” said William Walter, the project manager for Canvas for a CURE. “Some can offer money for rent as well. It’s pretty much like any financial need that a family going through child cancer treatment needs.”
Between donations, raffles and canvases, the event raised over 2,700 dollars. That number is up from 2019 but far below their best fundraising year which brought in around 6,000 dollars.
This event has been around since 2014. Originally starting in The Burton, it then bounced around locations to Francis Hall, then moving to the McGinley-Carney Center, before making its return this year to the Burton.
“The Burton was super open to having us there,” Walter said.
The current owners of the establishment are graduates of St. Bonaventure University.
Canvas for a Cure also received donations from individual businesses, such as Cutco, Holiday Valley, Don Tequila, Anchor Bar, Tasta Pizza and even individual donations from Bonaventure alumni.
While the fundraiser this year was a success, no event is being planned for next semester.
“This was a ton of work and I don’t know if we can do something next year,” said Walter. “I don’t know if it would be as successful as this year. Also, we just basically exhausted all of our donations.”
martonkd18@bonaventure.edu
