Going above and beyond the call of duty, Clan football raises 1,600 dollars for charity
By Jade Richardson
Photo courtesy of Ben Hodge
The Clan football team is well into the spring training season, but they still set aside time in their busy student-athlete schedules to give back. The team recently created the Clan Football Team-Up Community Outreach Program, and is becoming more involved in the community that supports them.
They started the program in hopes of being able to support the community and give back in the Burnaby and Greater Vancouver area. The first project the team took on was organizing a charitable concert to raise funds for the Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver.
The event proved to be a success. Last weekend at their annual inter-squad match, following the completion of their Spring Training Camp, the team presented a 1,600 dollar cheque to the organization.
The team reached out to Big Brothers as several team members were already involved with the organization individually, including offensive lineman Jeremy Pearce.
“We are really happy with the success of our event which allowed us to donate 1,600 dollars to the program,” Pearce said. “Big Brothers is a very deserving organization, presenting the cheque last weekend was a very exciting first step for us.”
The team is also beginning to collect used electronics from now until April 24 to raise money for the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics BC. Through the Think Recycles fundraising program they will cash in used electronics to earn money to donate to the charity.
Abolishing the “jock” stereotype is not the goal of the program, but the players hope that their community work will influence people to see their potential as leaders in the community and the school.
“We have a lot planned for the future,” continued Pearce. “The community fuels our program, so being as involved as we can is extremely important.”
Fans can learn more about the team’s endeavours by liking the Clan Football Team-Up Community Outreach Program on Facebook.
