By Sarah Hall

Editor

Gus Macker put Cicero on the map, and for the last six years, it’s kept the doors to the CanTeen teen center open.

But unless the tournament is able to net some sponsors soon, all of that may change.

“We want nothing more than to continue the tradition for years to come,” said Tournament Director Julie LaFave. “However, without the funds to even break even, we can’t guarantee the future.”

Gus Macker tournaments have become a tradition for people across the country. The first Gus Macker tournament was played by Scott McNeal (known to friends as Gus Macker) on his parents’ driveway basketball court in Lowell, Michigan, in 1974, and it only grew from there. By 1987, it had become a statewide phenomenon. The first year, more than 10,400 players participated in five cities. Since then, the Macker tournaments have expanded, holding both indoor and outdoor games in more than 75 cities, with more than 200,000 players taking part each year.

LaFave, a native of Michigan, brought the Macker to Cicero in 2010 to act as a major fundraiser for the CanTeen after state budget cuts threatened the program. Since its inception, the tournament has raised more than $120,000 for the teen center, attracting about 175 to 200 teams and roughly 800 athletes to town each year.

The tournament moved from Driver’s Village to the parking lot of the high school last year after the expansion of the car dealership. While the relocation meant better visibility, closer proximity to the CanTeen itself and a better space overall for the event, it did have a major downside: sponsorship revenue declined by 41 percent between 2014 and 2015.

“Some sponsors decided to no longer sign on because our new event was no longer ‘in their backyard,’ so to speak,” LaFave said. “Others kindly explained that they like to try to rotate charities every few years. It can only be described as a perfect storm last year with the location change and some sponsors moving on.”

Since launching the Macker tournament, the center has taken in fewer donations from the public, so that one fundraiser has been its main source of funding. The CanTeen needs about $30,000 to $40,000 annually to continue operations. Last year, however, the tournament took in just over $8,000 in sponsorship revenue.

“We haven’t been advertising our need to keep the doors open in a crisis situation like we’ve had to do in the past,” said Toni Brauchle, executive director of the CanTeen. “We’re not destitute, but we know that the New York state budget fluctuates from year to year, and therefore our allocation would change, so the Friends would be required to carry more of the burden to cover the budget. Because we haven’t been in panic mode since the first Gus Macker, donations from the public outside of sponsorship have dropped significantly.”

Meanwhile, tournament sponsorship continues to decline.

“If we compare 2014 to 2015, we were down in sponsorship money by 41 percent. This year is looking even more grim,” LaFave said. “Compared to 2014, we are 57 percent down this year. That kind of loss is making the future of the tournament even more of a question mark. We work on this event for at least half of the year. We made very little last year by the standards set in previous years. If our sponsorship is down even further, we will have to evaluate where we go from here.”

While tournament staff continues to look for sponsorship opportunities, Brauchle has also reached out to former CanTeen participants through social media for help with the event as well as the Friends group.

“I am looking to bring in some alumni to not only do additional fundraising, but to assist with the fundraising that is already taking place,” she said. “The Macker is a huge undertaking that could use some fresh manpower. I am also curious to see if the alumni have a few new ideas regarding ways to supplement the revenue raised at Macker.”

Several CanTeen alums have already offered their support, pledging to attend the next Friends meeting, which took place Monday, June 20. All are eager to do what they can to keep the doors open to the facility that was once a second home to them and hundreds of other teens at a time when they needed it most.

“Adolescence is a time of figuring stuff out,” Brauchle said. “’What do I stand for? Am I gay or straight or somewhere in between, and when do I need to figure that out? If I’m a girl, do I show my intelligence, or do I start hiding my abilities for fear that it will be one more thing that I am being made fun of for?’ A place like the CanTeen gives you that soft place to be who you are without judgment among peers and adults that will lift you up as opposed to tearing you down.”

A place like that supports not only teens in need who might otherwise engage in risky behavior, but the community as a whole, Brauchle said.

“Every community needs a place of refuge during these challenging times,” she said. “Every day, we read about or hear about how, as a society, we have no empathy. We don’t know how to interact and be accepting. We spread hatred and fear instead of love and compassion. Smaller, inclusive ‘homes’ foster the idea of getting to know people and finding out the inside scoop on someone, what they’re truly like on the inside. We provide that opportunity and so much more.”

That’s why the CanTeen must stay open — and why Macker must go on. Sponsors are needed at all levels, from ad sponsors starting at $25 up to tournament sponsors at $10,000. If you can’t make a financial contribution, businesses can make an in-kind contribution of food to feed the volunteers, who are needed to help keep score, check in volunteers, park cars and clean the grounds. Any help the community can provide, no matter how small, is necessary to help keep the tournament going.

“We would ask that anyone with any interest in seeing this continue to contact us,” LaFave said. “There are no bad ideas!”

For more information or to offer your support, contact the CanTeen at 699-1391.