By George Zhang, Co-Director of Staff Development
Feet planted, shoulders squared. Senior point guard Brendan Styer shoots the last of his 50 free throws. He made 48 shots and raised $96. Around him, members of the Conestoga basketball team are following suit, shooting free throws for donations.
This is the main event for the Giving Zone Basketball Shoot-a-Thon, a fundraiser started by Styer this year in order to raise money for new basketball equipment such as a shooting machine.
“We had this old shooting machine that was made in around 2006. I thought it would be good to get a new one because I was trying to use it and it didn’t even work,” Styer said. “I saw my Amateur Atheletic Union coach who ran this freethrow fundraiser and I was like, ‘Why don’t we try that?’”
There were two possible ways to receive donations. First, the players would set up their own personal profile on the fundraiser’s website. There, family members and friends could either donate a flat amount to the player’s name or pledge a certain amount of money to contribute upon each free throw.
They made their 50 free throws at the beginning of an open gym practice session held on Sept. 7 at Conestoga. Overall, the team raised around $5,500, exceeding Styer’s expectations.
“I wasn’t sure how successful it would be because we’ve never done anything like that in the past. Also, it was in the offseason so we weren’t exactly sure how it was gonna turn out. But a lot of people got involved and were really helpful. It definitely broke my expectations of how much money we’d raise,” Styer said.
Aside from the new shooting machine, the team will use the funds to enter tournaments during the offseason and purchase new gear such as basketballs and jerseys. Senior and forward player Liam Smith thought the Shoot-a-Thon was a creative idea to raise money.
“It was definitely something that was new and unique to basketball, and I think it was really successful. We got a jump on it earlier and we did it before the basketball, season so that was kind of nice,” Smith said. “I think that was a really good idea from Brendan.”
In the future, the team hopes to incorporate the Shoot-a-Thon into its annual fundraisers. Freshman guard Sunny Tummala looks forward to three more years of Shoot-a-Thons.
“I’m pretty excited for the future just in terms of playing on the team and participating in these fundraisers,” Tummala said. “I made 45 this year and hopefully I can bring that number up to 50 in the next few years.”
George Zhang can be reached at [email protected].
