A group of local university and high school students will pool their efforts once again this year in support of the Greater Moncton Dragon Boat Festival, hoping to improve on their fifth-place finish and raise even more funds than they did in 2009.
The student-led team - known as Captain Blackbeard - will race in the corporate competition for the Charity Cup in next month's dragon boat festival, an annual fundraising event at Moncton's Jones Lake in support of the IWK Children's Hospital and Lions Sick Children's Fund.
"It's our last year so we want to go out with a bang," says Scott Walton, who has raced with Captain Blackbeard since its inception back in 2007 when it started out as a high school dragon boat team.
This year's race will be Captain Blackbeard's last hurrah as they plan to pass on the torch (or the oars, so to speak) back to Tantramar High to let students there carry on the tradition.
"We're giving the name back to the high school," says Kathryn Crossman, another of the original team members.
Crossman says the team - which consists of 18 university students, three high school students and two Titan alumni - hopes to exceed last year's fundraising total of $4,300 and aims to bring home first-place honours in its fourth and final race.
"If we could reach our goal of $5,000 and come home with medals around our necks, that would be pretty sweet," she says.
"Last year was such a great success," adds teammate Mary Kate MacLean, "that we want to do even better, we want to beat what we did last year."
Even amid their busy university lives and holding down summer jobs, the local dragon boat participants have been on the go non-stop for the past few months as they work towards their goal - they've been bagging groceries, holding bake sales, raffles and bottle drives, obtaining pledges, getting corporate sponsors, and hosting a charity volleyball game. A number of other local fundraisers are also in the works for May.
Crossman says the support from the community in the past two years has been amazing.
"The community's been a huge help . . . everyone, even those without a connection to the team, have jumped on board."
One local woman donated her garage for their bottle drive while another resident dropped off baked goods for their recent bake sale, says Crossman, noting people are generous when it comes to raising funds for a worthy cause such as a children's hospital.
"As soon as people hear, they come running."
"The IWK hits home, we all know someone who's been there," agrees teammate Kraig Crossman.
The Captain Blackbeard team got its start four years ago when it was named in honour of TRHS student Robert Blackbeard, who at the time was undergoing cancer treatments for Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
First diagnosed with the disease when he was 15, Robert underwent another round of treatments last year after suffering a relapse but he is now in remission.
Robert, who raced in last year's dragon boat festival and plans to do so again this year, said he's been "overwhelmed" with the team's dedication to carry on the Captain Blackbeard tradition.
The corporate Dragon Boat races will take place on Saturday, June 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Jones Lake in Moncton. The high school challenge will be held on Friday, June 4.
For more information, check out the Greater Moncton Dragon Boat Festival website at www.gmdbf.ca.
Upcoming fundraisers for Captain Blackbeard
Saturday, May 22
- 8:30 a.m. to noon
Sackville Fire Hall
Yard sale
Variety of items
Saturday, May 29
- 5-7 p.m. at downtown bandstand
Rally and Barbecue
Hot dogs and Juice
Featuring face painting and musical entertainment
- 200 Club 50/50 draw
Number of cash prizes to be won, including top prize of $1,000
Only 200 tickets sold
Draw to be held soon
Contact Natalie Crossman at 536-1843 for info
