The St. Thomas football team raised more money than 3,500 groups for the fourth year in a row for the St. Jude’s Up ‘Til Dawn fundraiser.

Not only did the team rank first, but the Tommies also broke their personal best record, raising nearly $40,000 to fund the hospital and research.

“I think it’s very important for our players to understand there’s a certain responsibility,” coach Glenn Caruso said. “If we went to be wholistic and grow in every way we can, then part of that is understanding our civic engagement.”

To raise the donations, the football team spent one night bonding, eating pizza and sending emails. Caruso said it was important to hold this event because of the impact the team makes each year.

Older players on the team play share fundraising tips with younger players so they craft effective emails. Senior Andrew Inserra, this year’s top fundraiser, said he only sends emails to people he’s personally connected with.

“I never had the intention of being the top fundraiser,” Inserra said “I just wanted to do my part as a senior, and it just so happened that people ended responding back to me, which is very cool.”

Keeping track of which player raised the most was not a priority for the team or the coach, Caruso said. The focus was on fundraising as a team.

“Just like I couldn’t tell you who led our team in yards rushing last year, I have no idea who the actual leader was,” Caruso said, “but I do know the guys who were very productive, and Andrew was one of them.”

As the group that raised the most money, the football team can send five players to Memphis, Tennessee to visit St. Jude’s Hospital. This opportunity gives them the chance to see the facilities, patients and doctors.

“They welcomed us with open arms and they told us that really we are the reason they are able to do such great things because of the amount of money we raised,” Inserra said.

Caruso has visited St. Jude’s with his own family and believes it is a worthwhile experience for his team.

“We’ve known good friends of our family and good friends of our program whose kids have been treated down there,” Caruso said. “It’s as worthy of a cause as there is.”

The players who go to Tennessee will return and speak to the whole team at the next Up ‘Til Dawn fundraiser. These personal experiences at St. Jude’s also provide context to the emails being sent to donors.

“I traveled down to Memphis as a freshman,” Inserra said. “(In emails) I got to say that I saw where the money goes first hand. I’ve been to the facilities. It is a really great cause that I truly stand behind.”

Ultimately, the goal of volunteering and donating is to give the team a sense of responsibility in the world around them.

“For us to be able to step out of our comfort zones and do things, whether that be volunteer in our neighborhood, take leadership trips down to Memphis and St. Jude’s or take our team overseas to see other cultures, it makes us more tolerant and more understanding of the world around us.” Caruso said.

With his last year at St. Thomas wrapping up, Inserra believes their history of successful fundraising will continue in the future. The team challenges itself every year to beat their own record, which they have been successful with so far.

“We just do what we do best, which is go about the process and put our best foot forward, and results just come after that,” Inserra said.

Mackenzie Bailey can be reached at Bail7757@stthomas.edu.