One way to beat the heat this summer? Get out on the water and play.
Surfing is America’s fastest-growing water sport, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. And in the summer, wakesurfing, wakeboarding, water-skiing, paddle boarding, and tubing swell in popularity in lakes and waterways across the country.
But this summer, you can do good while you’re out on the water having fun.
For the second year in a row, MasterCraft boating company teamed up with St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and added a special feature to the MasterCraft Connect app.
Now, users can track their water sports activities, and for every minute logged, Mastercraft will donate $1 towards children’s cancer research.
“As boaters hit the water this summer, we encourage them to download the app and log their time behind the boat doing their favorite activities and help us raise funds for St. Jude,” MasterCraft’s president of marketing Krista Schipner said in a press release.
Meagan Ethell, a seven-time world champion of wakeboarding, also joined in on promoting the “Surf to Save Lives” campaign.
“What makes this campaign so great is that you don’t even need a MasterCraft [boat] to participate in this campaign,” said Ethell told FOX 35 Orlando.
“All you need to do is have the MasterCraft app and log any on-water towed activity. It’s just such an easy way to [be] a part of this campaign.”
While St. Jude is not immune to criticism, the nonprofit has provided free cancer treatments to children across the globe for decades. Moreover, their research hospital has been instrumental in increasing the survival rate of childhood cancer from 20% to 80% since 1962.
Pro-wakeboarder Alexa Score is the spokesperson for MasterCraft’s campaign. As a survivor of childhood leukemia, Score said that she’s deeply passionate about the cause, which is “near and dear to her heart.”
“We had a very successful campaign last year, and I hope even more people will join me this year by downloading the MasterCraft Connect app and getting out on the water to help us help St. Jude carry out its mission,” Score said in a press release.
“Together, we can make a difference.”
Through the app tracking, MasterCraft aims to match last year’s donation of $75,000.
The campaign runs now through October 1, 2024.
Header image via Ron Lach / Pexels
