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Teams Training Hard for March Madness Fundraising Challenge on March 19-20

Worcester State is stoking the flames of competition to encourage two days of crowdfunding by 48 teams representing student groups, academic programs, and athletes. WSU March Madness, the 2019 Days of Giving, kicks off at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, March 19, and continues through midnight on Wednesday, March 20, with the winning teams collecting cash prizes for the most gifts raised per team member.

The bracketed competition replicates the thrill of the NCAA’s iconic basketball tournament. In this new Worcester State fundraising challenge, teams advance to the next round by raising more gifts per team member than their competition in a 12-hour period. The teams crowned champion in each of three brackets will receive an additional $1,000 for their cause; second place will receive $500; and two third-place teams per bracket will receive $250.

See the team bracket matchups here. [1]

Members of team Enactus, no strangers to competition, are already planning their attack against first-round opponent, the Worcester State Fund.

“Our team is beginning a strategic plan that will allow our entire team to do what teams do, and work all together for a successful outcome,” says student Fernando Ponce. Money raised for the team on these two days go to its travel fund so members can attend Enactus competitions and “showcase our work that we have put into our community and gain invaluable experience in public speaking, leadership, project development and management, networking, and most importantly share with hundreds what Worcester State University is and how our students are making an impact in the heart of the Commonwealth.”

Assistant Dean Marilyn Cleary is the captain of the Division of Graduate and Continuing Education team, which is raising money for graduate student scholarships.

“We know that most graduate students are only able to get financial aid in the form of loans. We also know that many of our graduate students are working full or part time and have many other financial commitments. We want to help our graduate students by being able to lessen their educational financial burdens,” Cleary says.

Even if teams are knocked out in an early round, they can still earn money during three Power Hours per day. At 9 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m., the teams with the most gifts per team member during those hours will receive an additional $250.

The Lancer athletic teams are competing in a bracket of their own, and the women’s lacrosse team is fired up to challenge its first-round opponent, the men’s and women’s golf teams. Money raised will support new uniforms, team swag, and equipment.

“We are looking to win a MASCAC Championship for the first time in school history so we want to make sure we look the part,” says Coach Kelly Downs. “Look good, feel good, play good is our motto!”

Jaymi-Lyn Sousa, chair of the Student Government Association and chair of a team that includes SGA, the student senate and student trustee, says just preparing for the competition has been helpful.

“We have used the tasks assigned to us, such as creating a video for our own crowdfunding website, as team building activities and reasons to spend more time together while working collaboratively on a fun project that will eventually benefit the SGA. We have 24 team members and were able to include everyone in the process of getting ready for the competition. We are so excited for it to start so we can see our hard work pay off,” she says.

Emma Gosselin of the Equestrian Team sees parallels between training for the fundraising competition and training for the team’s actual competitions.

“We call ourselves ‘the little team that could’ because we compete against teams two or three times our size, and still do very well,” she says. “While we are busy gearing up for the spring season of competition, we are working behind the scenes to let our families and friends know of the upcoming giving day. We are hoping that at our last competition for the season (the weekend after March Madness) we’ll be able to celebrate winning March Madness, too.”

See the full list of teams, rules, and other information here [1]. For more information, contact Sierra Trudel, strudel@worcester.edu [2].

Teams competing:

2020 Class Committee

Academic Development Fund

Baseball

Binienda Center

Cheerleading

Criminal Justice

Education Department Fund

Enactus

Equestrian Team

Field Hockey

Football

General Scholarship Fund

Giguere Nursing Fund

Graduate School Scholarship

Health Sciences

Internship Program Fund

Lambda Pi Eta

Lancers for Lancers Book Fund

Library Special Initiatives Fund

Men’s & Women’s Cross Country

Men’s and Women’s Golf

Men’s Basketball

Men’s Ice Hockey

Men’s Indoor Track & Outdoor Track

Men’s Soccer

Next Big Idea Competition Fund

Nursing Class of 2019

Nursing Class of 2020

Nursing Class of 2021

Occupational Therapy

Presidential Student Ambassadors

Softball

Student Emergency Fund

Student Government Association

University Food Pantry

Upward Bound Scholarship

Worcester Country Club “Swing Into Action” Scholarship

Wellness Center

Women’s Basketball

Women’s Indoor Track & Outdoor Track

Women’s Lacrosse

Women’s Soccer

Women’s Tennis

Women’s Volleyball

Woo Serve

Worcester State Fund

WSU Pride Alliance

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