Waking at the crack of dawn, members of the Binghamton University crew team commit their bodies and schedules to the sport. That, and doing household chores for students and local residents.

Binghamton crew is lending their services to students and community members in need of a helping hand through their fundraiser Rent-A-Rower. Rowers on the team can be hired to take care of any household chore or project for $12.50 an hour, throughout the year on an as-needed basis.

Rowers like Brandon Murray, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, are hired for various reasons, including heavy lifting, cleaning, raking yards and shoveling snow.

“I’ve been hired for all sorts of tasks, landscaping, raking leaves, serving food and even interior printing,” Murray said. Doing the tasks is a nice change from the ordinary, and is definitely enjoyable.”

Cayla Kiernan, vice president of the team and a junior majoring in biomedical engineering, said Rent-A-Rower is essential to crew’s growth and connecting it with the rest of Binghamton.

“They are not only one of our largest fundraisers, they also allow us to go out into the community and offer help to people who need it,” Kiernan said. “This is our way of giving back to them while raising money for our team.”

All of the proceeds of Rent-A-Rower directly support the team and pay for equipment and costs of travel for competitions.

A form is available on BU crew’s website, where people fill out a description of the job, how many rowers they think are needed to complete the certain task and what time and where the student needs them. After the request is processed, Kiernan assigns rowers to the job.

“Once I have a request, I work directly with the customer and my teammates to get the request fulfilled in a timely manner,” Kiernan said.

Kiernan also makes sure to follow up with students after the job is done, asking if the rowers provided good service and thanking them for continual support of the team.

Maria Teresa Bianchetti, a junior majoring in environmental studies and a member of crew, said that she has helped set up an alumni event and move furniture for the program. According to her, the team tends to complete chores two to three times a month.

“It is something I enjoy doing because I get to help the community while also helping my crew team,” Bianchetti said.

Although Kiernan said it could be challenging to publicize the fundraiser, she said Rent-A-Rower is successful and gaining in popularity. Since last spring, over 45 team members have participated in filling students’ requests, and rowers are encouraged to spread the word and take on tasks.

“Rent-A-Rower completion is not a requirement to be on the team,” Kiernan said. “However, those who do participate receive recognition.”