Aside from dedicating countless hours of training to be 2012 Patriot League Champions, the Colgate volleyball team sets aside time each season to raise money and awareness for the Sideout Foundation, which supports breast cancer research. 

The Sideout Foundation, founded in 2004, aims to united volleyball players around the fight against breast cancer. Volleyball teams from all over the country participate Sideout Foundation fundraising. The foundation puts on events throughout the year such as the Dig Pink October Rally, in which teams including the Colgate Raiders participate. The foundation gives funds raised to organizations conducting breast cancer research and providing medical and emotional support to patients and survivors of breast cancer. 

“The sporting world has really dedicated themselves to this charity because of how many

females it affects,” said head coach Ryan Baker. 

In the past two years, the team has raised about $11,000 for the Sideout Foundation’s fight against breast cancer. The team raises these funds by reaching out to family and friends, selling shirts and setting up tables in the O’Connor Campus Center. Senior captain Michelle McCarthy is in charge of organizing the fundraising and keeping in contact with the Sideout Foundation. 

Furthermore, junior captain Kaylee Fifer, in conjunction with the Delta Upsilon fraternity, planned the Boobie Bash, another fundraising effort. 

“It’s really no different than prepping for a big game or getting fans to a match – if you talk about it a lot and have a decisive plan, it’s relatively easy to get it all to come together,”

said McCarthy. 

In addition to just raising money, in the past two seasons the Raiders have introduced a personal aspect to their cause by honoring members of the Colgate community who are battling breast cancer. The honorees have been Senior Rowdy Raider Susan Beattie and Rebecca Wood, a former teammate and close friend of Baker’s wife, assistant coach Kristin Baker. The women are honored by the team dedicating a pink jersey in their names. 

The team is enthusiastic about the work they do with the Sideout Foundation, and they also give back to Colgate’s surrounding community by volunteering at local Sherburne schools through the adopt-a-classroom project.