The fundraiser has single spots for $200 and groups of four for $750
Fundraisers and community charity events are common for good sport programs trying to connect with their local areas. During the times of COVID-19, much has changed for university athletic programs, making large-scale community initiatives difficult. Despite those difficulties, UFV has announced a golf event that aims to raise money for athletic scholarships, set for June 24 at the Chilliwack Golf Club.
One of the coaches helping the fundraiser get going is men’s volleyball coach Nathan Bennett. Bennett joined the team in 2019, partially to help them make the transition from the PacWest conference to U Sports and the Canada West conference that features other big, national programs. As he explained, the chance to connect with the community and raise money for scholarship programs is needed. All net proceeds will go toward athlete scholarships.
“I think we realized it’s something we need to do, as far as our athletics department is concerned. It’s a fun day. It’s a fun event, but it’s also a good fundraiser for scholarships for all of our programs. It’s always fun to have a fundraiser that’s exciting,” Bennett said. “That’s fun, and it gets us outside, and those things are good to do.”
UFV has hung on to their coaches and programs despite the financial implications of not playing at major events, so raising money should certainly help the program maintain scholarships, amongst their other financial programs.
“I don’t think COVID-19 has anything to do with getting this event off the ground,” Bennett explained. “This event was going to happen last year regardless, but then COVID-19 kind of sidetracked it. I think it’s just something for us as a department; fundraising for athletics is essential. It’s essential for programs to be, without a better word here, elite. We want to be an elite program here in the Fraser Valley.”
“… Every institution has lost money. I’m not going to talk for every institution, but funding is lower for our athletic department due to the fact that COVID-19 has affected our tuition.”
Bennett also is consistent about the fact that community events are very important to the program, as they bring people together and help develop relationships between athletes and the fans. UFV is known to have multiple community initiatives across its various squads, with everything from food and toy drives to general fundraising events such as this scheduled golf tournament.
The tournament is set for June 24, starting at $200 per spot or $750 for groups of four. The day on the course will help fund scholarships for students and also reconnect athletes with fans. With golf being one of the few games that can effectively continue safely, the tournament should be good fun for staff, athletes, and local golfers.
(Markus Spiske / Unsplash)
