While Marshall University men’s soccer beat University of Kentucky 1-0 Saturday, Marshall Athletics in conjunction with the Interfraternity Council raised $407 for pediatric cancer research during their Boot Out Cancer event at the stadium.

Tyler Able, director of marketing for Marshall Athletics, said he had the idea to start fundraising early for the annual Thunder Dance dance-a-thon by having the T-shirt table at the game.

“Thunder Dance always goes to helping pediatric cancer research, and I wanted to get the idea out there earlier in the year and start fundraising,” Able said. “I got the idea for the name, ‘Boot Out Cancer,’ from the cleats used in multiple sports here on campus. I got T-shirts made with the cleat design that said, ‘Saturdays are for booting out cancer’ and, with a minimum donation of $2, people were able to get a shirt and be a part of this good deed.”

Able was not alone in planning the fundraiser and, wanting to involve other organizations on campus, he approached Rick Farlow, the Interfraternity Council vice president of public relations and senior journalism major.

“Tyler approached me about the shirts and tabling, and I was really excited to get involved,” Farlow said. “Thunder Dance is a huge deal on campus and getting the fundraising started early is only going to help make it even bigger this year. And, while most Greek organizations have their own philanthropies, we still like to branch out and do what we can to help.”

Able said his undergraduate experience with dance marathons at the University of Kentucky made him want to bring that passion to his position at Marshall.

“I attended the dance marathons every year during my undergrad, and I had so much fun dancing and raising money and awareness,” Able said. “I really wanted to bring that excitement to my position here at Marshall and get the students and community ready for helping to raise funds and awareness for pediatric cancer research with cool shirts and a great message.”

Breanna Francis can be contacted at [email protected].