Racker Rivals fundraiser enters final week

Every year, one of the premier events of the summer in Ithaca is the Racker Rivals celebrity hockey game that caps off a fundraising effort. This year, due to COVID-19 concerns, the game was not possible. As a result, Cornell Hockey and Racker, an Ithaca-based organization benefiting those with disabilities, pivoted to a virtual fundraiser this year.

The competitive aspect of the fundraiser has remained at the forefront, even if there is no celebrity game at the end. Cornell men’s hockey coach Mike Schafer represents Team Cornell and Tompkins Trust Company President and CEO Greg Hartz represents Team Racker, and for every $1,000 raised, a “goal” is put on the scoreboard.

With a week left in the fundraising period, this year’s total has already surpassed last year’s, with over $60,000 raised to support Racker’s early childhood programs. The decision was made on May 1 to cancel this year’s game, and soon after, former Cornell hockey captain and assistant coach Topher Scott came up with the idea to have two teams raise funds against each other.

To create the teams, Schafer spearheaded a virtual fantasy draft on Zoom that was streamed live on Facebook. That draft has been the highlight of the fundraiser thus far, according to Racker Director of Community Relations and Development Bob Brazill.

“Coach Schafer went off the list a couple times and picked Ron Francis, who was not on the list,” Brazill said. “There were a lot of people that were picked, including myself, that weren’t on the draft list that were pulled into it. The banter was hysterical. We’ve seen the benefits of it just from the fundraising aspect, the competitiveness of both teams. It’s very, very close right now.”

Scott compared the energy of the virtual draft to being in the locker room with teammates. The idea came out of several brainstorming meetings as Racker and Cornell had to maintain the energy of the fundraiser without stepping foot on the ice at Lynah Rink.

“We got together and we said, ‘Hey, we still want to do something. We’re not sure what that is yet,’” Scott said. “We took a couple weeks and thought about it and then came together, had a meeting and decided to keep going. The competitiveness of Racker Rivals has always been one of the staples of it. It’s always brought out a lot of fun.”

Not holding a game this year actually opened up more doors to bring in bigger names to help the fundraising efforts. Schafer’s hockey connections beyond the Cornell community were able to get Hockey Hall of Famers Mike Richter, Ron Francis and New York Rangers legend Adam Graves involved with the fundraiser.

Before the draft, Racker held a live-streamed Zoom call with the aforementioned players along with Cornell alum and Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Nieuwendyk.

“We did a Facebook Live event where coach Schafer brought a bunch of NHL Hall of Famers and Stanley Cup champions in to talk about their experiences and what culture looks like on winning teams,” Brazill said. “It was just a really cool thing. They just talked about culture, and [it was] very light hearted and a good kickoff for us to start this whole draft video.”

Considering the trying times the country is currently in, the fact that more money has been raised this year than in years’ past is especially impressive. Brazill and Scott both touched on what can be utilized next year when things are hopefully back to normal.

“In a difficult situation like this, sometimes you really find some good ideas,” Brazill said. “I think the draft and the Zoom call and the engagement of coach Schafer and all the players has just been something that we’re going to look to next year to see how we can build on that. We have nearly 360 total donors; 160 or 170 are new.”

Scott is hoping that the players continue their high level of involvement. In fact, Ron Francis, who is not originally from the Cornell Hockey community, has the third highest amount of money raised of all the people involved in the fundraiser with over $5,000.

“We can press the players that are playing to keep the fundraiser going and maybe not rely so much on the ticket sales and the sponsorships,” Scott said. “But the players who are participating in the game are really, really into it this year.

The players have just gone above and beyond in their fundraising efforts. In future years, we’ll have to make sure that they don’t slack off on that.”

As of the writing of this article, over $62,000 has been raised with an additional $30,000 in sponsorships. Brazill mentioned that the goal was to reach $100,000 total, and with a week left, that seems to be all but certain. If you’d like to help Racker reach that goal to benefit the special needs community in Ithaca, you can visit the Give Gab fundraiser page at givegab.com/campaigns/RRBR2020.