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Lions 'Blitz For Brains' fundraiser a big success

Spencer Graling, 16, has been playing football for a few years in St. Paul. Every year he plays the game, he sees players around him getting seriously hurt and suffering from concussions by being involved in the high contact sport.
The St. Paul Lions ‘Blitz For Brains’ initiative founded by Spencer Graling (far right) raised a total of $693 for the University of Alberta Hospital Foundation
The St. Paul Lions ‘Blitz For Brains’ initiative founded by Spencer Graling (far right) raised a total of $693 for the University of Alberta Hospital Foundation thanks to support from Dr. Thomson Dentistry, Tannas Insurance Brokers and Xtreme Oilfield Technology. Pictured here with Graling is David Thomson, Trevor Duchesneau and Josie Lesyk.

Spencer Graling, 16, has been playing football for a few years in St. Paul. Every year he plays the game, he sees players around him getting seriously hurt and suffering from concussions by being involved in the high contact sport.

“Seeing this happen made me realize that something had to be done to combat concussions, and to bring widespread awareness to the issue,” said Graling.

What he did was create the ‘Blitz For Brains’ fundraising initiative, which saw each sponsor of this endeavor donate $1 for every team or individual tackle made by the St. Paul Lions in the six games the club played as part of the 2015 Wheatland Football League (WFL) regular season. This fundraiser had the support of three local businesses, so for every tackle made $3 was donated. The businesses that partnered with ‘Blitz For Brains’ were Dr. David Thomson Dentistry, Tannas Insurance Brokers and Xtreme Oilfield Technology.

Graling decided to approach the sponsors he did because “they have a great reputation of getting behind community causes,” and all three have ties to the local football community.

The Lions made a total of 231 tackles this past season. Therefore, this campaign raised $693 in its inaugural year. Graling led the team with 61 tackles, which ranked him third in WFL. The middle linebacker’s individual tackles were worth $183 of the overall total.

The money raised is going directly to the University of Alberta Hospital Foundation to be used to towards combatting concussions, increasing our understanding of head trauma and to help research better treatment and prevention methods.

Graling told the Journal that it was important for him that the money was raised the way it was so that players on the team “would feel like they were directly involved in helping the cause,” and because this kind of campaign “combats concussions where they take place: the playing field.”

It is Graling’s intent to bring this program back for the next football season. After he graduates from high school at the end of the 2016-17 school year, he is hoping that another Lions player can take up the mantle of managing this initiative.

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