It took two Rye High School juniors a year — and a team. Last fall, Danny Keller and Grant Janart were at the helm of their first fundraising event.

By Miranda van Dijk

 

It took two Rye High School juniors a year — and a team. Last fall, Danny Keller and Grant Janart were at the helm of their first fundraising event. The Rye Crew Team, of which they are both members, took part in the Bill Braxton Memorial Regatta to raise money for Crew Cares, the organization they founded to aid in the ongoing fight against cancer through donations to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

“Danny and I both have family members who’ve lost their lives to this dreadful disease,” said Janart. “We wanted to make a difference, and we decided to do so through a sport we love.”

After a lot of research, they launched a website, set up an online donation page, and coordinated with Sloan-Kettering in order to get Crew Cares off the ground. During the process, the duo wrote a handbook for other high school students who want to start up similar projects.

To date, Crew Cares has donated over $8,000 to fight cancer.

Keller and Janart are already looking ahead. “This isn’t strictly a rowing charity. We hope to include other sports as well,” said Janart. Keller added, “Our goal is to create a model for high school students to combine a sport or club they love with community service.”

For information or to make a donation to Crew Cares, visit razoo.com/Crewcares. High school students interested in starting their own fundraiser through a sport can contact Danny Keller at dankeller101@gmail.com for a free copy of the instructional handbook.