Through Excalibur Eyes is a developing series that aims to spotlight Trent Excalibur and its athletes.

For the month of October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Trent University Excalibur women’s soccer team organized a campus wide bra collection in support of Peterborough’s seventh annual “Bras Around The Building” campaign. This campaign is aimed at gathering gently used bras for women in need and raising funds for breast cancer research.

The Excalibur initiative, spearheaded by women’s soccer goaltender Paige Spurgeon, with the help from members of the women's volleyball and rowing teams, donated over 60 bras!

“As a team, we felt that this was the perfect opportunity to give back to the community, and get involved with something bigger than ourselves,” said Spurgeon. “As student-athletes, it is important to us to be well-balanced, good people, who bleed green both on and off the field, while representing Trent University in the best possible way.”

Until last year, Spurgeon had not been personally affected by breast cancer, but after a family friend was diagnosed with the disease, she became incredibly thankful for her family's health, as well as her own, and planned to show support and bring awareness of the disease to young women.

“Cancer is powerful and painful, but in most cases, cancer can be preventable,” positively voiced Spurgeon. “I think a lot of young people overlook the importance of raising awareness for the disease, but by learning that research has shown that only 5-10% of all cancer cases can be attributed to genetics, you start to become more aware of your surrounding environment and lifestyle, and try to eliminate the influence of risks for developing Breast Cancer. Understanding potential causes, signs, and symptoms are imperative to prevention. This was a game changer for me and it can be for you!”

Spurgeon and team plan to continue growing the initiative next year. They aim to increase the number of bras collected, engage more students across campus, and cement this as an annual project for years to come. Just imagine a “Bras Along the Bridge.” It would be a great fit for Trent University!