During a home football game against Mount St. Joseph on Sept. 29, the Bluffton University football team demonstrated the core values of community and service. The team held a Lego Drive to honor the legacy of 7-year-old Cainan Craun, the son of Bluffton alumni, who lost his courageous battle to cancer this past January.
Director of Multicultural Student Development and running backs coach Tyson Goings said he learned about Cainan’s battle with cancer through the Facebook posts of Cainan’s parents, Patrick and Gina. While undergraduates at Bluffton, Goings and Patrick Craun played football together.
When Cainan passed away from a level 4 glioblastoma brain tumor in January, Goings said he asked himself, “What can I do to help with this cause?”
In August, Goings proposed the Craun family serve as honorary captains during a home football game. With the agreement of head coach Aaron Krepps, Goings began to work with the Crauns to discover ways the team could best honor Cainan’s memory.
Goings said the Craun family now donates Lego sets back to the Dayton and Cincinnati Children’s hospitals as a way to honor Cainan, who loved to play with Lego bricks during their frequent stays in the hospital. To help pay it forward, they decided to place bins at Saturday’s football game to collect Legos for the “individuals that are currently going through similar situations, and the individuals in the future.”
On game day, the Crauns, including their 6-year-old son Gideon, acted as honorary captains, led the team in their pledge and received a football signed by coaches and players.
When Gideon was only 11 months old, he served as a bone marrow donor for Cainan.
The Lego collection drew many donations, including a donation from the HCAC Conference Commissioner Maureen Harty. In total, there were enough donations collected to fill up the back of the Craun family’s SUV.
Members of the football team expressed the impact the Lego Drive had on their team, the Craun family and the Bluffton community.
“It was a special day for the [Craun] family and it was a special day for us to be apart of. Gideon was thrilled and we were even more thrilled to have him and his parents. We hope that Gideon will remember this day for a long time because we will,” said junior Adam Duncan said.
Senior Keyon Camden said the Lego Drive “brought out the sense of family” during the game and was the “driving force” in the team’s performance Saturday.
“Patrick Craun played for us several years ago, and we were able to do something for him, reinforcing the idea that we are a big family who will take care of each other and pick each other up,” said sophomore Isaac Paine.
First-year student Zachary Nobis said he felt the Lego Drive was an opportunity for the team to realize they are playing for something greater than themselves.
“The Bluffton community is incredible and is always there for a fellow Beaver. Once a Beaver, always a Beaver,” said Nobis.
