On Thanksgiving morning, two teams of college-age men played a traditional game of pre-feast football. But the game was played for more than pride among muddy friends.
The Cornucopia Bowl, as the game has been dubbed by players, has become one facet of Collin Sullivan’s goal to help people in need.
Sullivan, now a senior at the University of Washington, graduated from Shorecrest High School in 2002 and has organized his friends and classmates for the Cornucopia Bowl each Thanksgiving morning since his first year of college. While planning the game last year, it struck Sullivan that he could make his football game a charitable event.
“I figured that [the game] needed some company behind it for people to take it seriously,” said Sullivan. “I just started brainstorming ideas on how it could work as a legitimate charity game.”
Sullivan decided the best way to make the Cornucopia Bowl a charitable event was to create a non-profit organization. He founded “Sularity,” which combines his last name Sullivan with the word charity.
“I chose to create this organization because I always felt I needed to make a difference in the world. I have been put into a situation in life that is very favorable, and it is my duty to try and help those in need,” said Sullivan.
On Thanksgiving, Sullivan’s organization hosted the Cornucopia Bowl to raise money for the Gayle Olsen Fund. In October, Olsen, a cherished staff member at Kellogg Middle School, passed away after losing her fight with cancer. Her son, Kris Olsen, is a friend and former classmate of Sullivan.
“I asked Kris tentatively because it was not long after she had passed, and he was thrilled with the idea,” Sullivan said. “His family has really been supportive of [the game].”
Dedicated to making student activities accessible to all students, the Olsen family created the Gayle Olsen Fund to collect money to pay for student activity fees. The annual fee for participating in Kellogg School activities, which includes all three sports seasons, is $37, which some families cannot afford. The money collected through the Gayle Olsen Fund sponsors students who are unable to pay.
When Sullivan approached the Olsen family with the sponsorship idea, they were pleased with his idea of donating the game’s proceeds to the Gayle Olsen Fund.
“We were thrilled,” said Kris Olsen. “It’s a pretty special thing. The fund isn’t that big yet but it is really helping kids at Kellogg to be able to play sports. That was something she really believed in.”
The Cornucopia Bowl is played like a traditional football game with two teams, a referee and howling fans. The scoring system was turned into a fund-raising endeavor by having players seek sponsorships from family or community members. After the game is played and each player’s statistics are recorded, the points scored are calculated into monetary value.
“A player will get one point for a tackle, 10 points for a touchdown, and three points for a fumble recovery,” Sullivan said. “The players then go find sponsors by asking them either to donate a flat donation or give them 25 cents per point, or whatever amount they want to donate.”
For Mike Harris, a friend of both Sullivan and Kris Olsen, the Cornucopia Bowl has many meanings rooted in tradition, friendship and a great cause.
“This game to me signifies the beginning of the holidays, and is a good reunion with friends,” said Harris. “This year it’s going to be a little more special because of Kris’ mother’s foundation.”
The money raised by players will be collected soon after the holiday weekend and handed over to the Gayle Olsen Fund at Kellogg Middle School.
Lori Longo, principal at Kellogg, believes Sullivan’s efforts to raise money for the Gayle Olsen Fund epitomize the strong relationship that Shoreline schools share with the Shoreline community.
“Of course I found it touching when he called about having the game’s proceeds benefit the Gayle Olsen Fund. Losing her has been very hard,” said Longo. “It is a great way to honor her memory and support a cause that she truly believed in.”
Collin Sullivan considers this year’s Cornucopia Bowl a success for Sularity, both in raising money for the Gayle Olsen Fund and in bringing awareness to the charity.
“I have heard nothing but support from those that I have talked to,” Sullivan said. “Everyone wants to help.”
Sularity has continued to grow since its creation just over a year ago, and for now Sullivan is actively working to bring publicity to his charity so that people know he’s serious about doing some good.
“I hope that people eventually know what Sularity does. The motto [for Sularity] right now is, ‘Ask how,’ said Sullivan, which refers to his encouragement of others to just ask him how they might help out.
Although participants will still be collecting money several days after the game, Sullivan has already surpassed his starting goal of raising $500 for the Gayle Olsen Fund. He expected the game to bring in between $650 to $800.
“My dream goal was to get to $1,000 and there is still a chance,” said Sullivan. “We will have to wait and see.”
Bridget Budbill is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.
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