For the last two months, it’s been like a rerun of high school for the Lubrano sisters. All three — Georgia, Sophie, and Amelia — have been home, like many of the rest of us. Home in Hanover, New Hampshire, they stared at the walls and at each other, and knew they needed to find a way to shake the feeling of overwhelming helplessness.

They found a way that exceeded all their expectations.

Amelia, the youngest Lubrano sister, is a junior at Colby College and a member of the women’s lacrosse team. Eldest sister Georgia graduated from Colby is 2017 after playing lacrosse and soccer for the Mules. Middle sister Sophie played soccer and lacrosse at Bowdoin, graduating in 2019.  Healthy and athletic, the sister thought there had to be a way to use that to raise money to fight the disease that has the entire world on edge.

“We wanted to do something active that helps many communities,” Georgia said.

Their Sweat2Support walk and run to benefit Positive Tracks, a charity that uses sports to benefit health initiatives, was more successful than the Lubrano sisters could have dreamed. The event, which participants did at their own pace in their own community, on April 19 raised $27,635, blowing past their goal of $20,000.

“We set the goal at $10,000, and hit that in the first week. So we raised it and hit that,” Sophie said.

The idea to do something for Positive Tracks came from their mother, Allegra Lubrano, who is friends with Nini Meyer, the founder of Positive Tracks. The sisters set up their GoFundMe page and got the word out.

“From the beginning, we were confident we had strong communities at Colby and Bowdoin, and from where we grew up in Hanover,” Sophie said.

For a minimum $10 donation (many donated more), the Lubrano sisters sent each participant a bib to wear during their run or walk. There was no set distance. They asked only that each participant do what they could, and please send a picture of themselves taking part.

“We received upwards of 100 photos,” Amelia said.

Photos of cousins in Colorado running in the mountains. Photos of friends running in California. One cousin had a broken leg, but still sent a picture doing laps on crutches. Grace Crowell, Amelia’s teammate on the Colby women’s lacrosse team, ran a marathon.

The sisters ran the same stretch of quiet country road, albeit in intervals so each was alone. In the days after April 19, they received more inquiries on donating, so the Lubranos left the GoFundMe page open. It’s since been closed, so the money could get to Positive Tracks, who could work with the Center for Disaster Philanthropy to get it where it’s needed.

Amelia’s junior season of lacrosse ended abruptly, with a 15-10 loss to Bowdoin on March 12. The Mules knew it would be the final game of an aborted six-game season. The rivalry game was hastily scheduled just hours after Colby students learned they would complete the semester remotely.

“It was sad, but a good way to end,” Amelia said.

The sisters are close, but that Colby-Bowdoin rivalry runs deep. Sophie knows it’s two against one, but cherishes that she spent her four years as a Polar Bear competing against her sisters, first against Georgia in soccer and lacrosse, then Amelia in lacrosse. Colby had the upper hand in lacrosse, Sophie said, but she had the upper hand in soccer.

That March 12 game was a chance to celebrate all of it.

“The juniors and sophomores and freshmen on both teams put something together for the seniors on the other team,” Georgia said. “That was cool.”

Their debut fundraising effort was an overwhelming success. Do the Lubrano sisters have another planned?

“We continue to get that question,” Georgia said. “The short answer is, stay tuned.”

For now, the sisters are happy to have inspired others. A number of friends are putting together fundraising events, and the Lubranos helped them get started.

“It’s cool to see people take a page from us and do their own thing,” Amelia said.

It’s going to be a long fight, but Covid-19 doesn’t have a chance.

 

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM

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