Rebounds don’t just get wins; they also get Starbucks. That is if you’re senior forward Chloe Marotta.
“My dad would be like, ‘Okay, you get 15 rebounds this game and we’ll go grab some Starbucks afterwards,’” Chloe said.
For as long as Chloe can remember, rebounding was emphasized by her dad as an essential part of basketball.
“My dad was a great rebounder in college and he knew the importance of rebounding,” Chloe said. “From a young age, as a coach, he was always coaching me to be the hardest worker on the floor instead of the person who scores the most or the flashiest player.”
Last season, Chloe used the lessons her dad taught her and passed him in all-time rebounds at Marquette University, where he played from 1980-1984.
Now, she is using those lessons to honor him in a way that is near and dear to her heart.
She recently began a campaign called “Rebounds for Research,” a new initiative set to raise money and awareness for The Brain Aneurysm Foundation through what she is most known for: her rebounding.
The charity helps raise money and awareness about the cerebrovascular disease her father passed away from to fund research and save lives.
Hello Everyone!
I am starting a campaign called Rebounds For Research! 100% of donations go to The Brain Aneurysm Foundation to save the lives of loved ones. Thank you for your support! Please click link below for more information.❤️ https://t.co/U1258IIX2k— Chloe Marotta (@ChloeMarotta) February 4, 2023
When Chloe was 14-years-old, her father Marc Marotta went to a local walk-in clinic with what he thought was nothing more than a bad headache and some neck pain. Then, only days later and unaware of the signs, he passed away from a brain aneurysm.
To Chloe, making sure this never happens to anyone ever again is what the campaign is all about.
“I want to be able to spread awareness and raise as much money as I can for the research of it,” Chloe said.
Chloe used the new name, image and likeness (NIL) rules to collaborate with The Winning Way Foundation, an organization that partners with collegiate athletes to raise funds for causes that matter to them.
“This foundation reached out to me, and they’re like, ‘Hey, I see that one of your interests is charity, would you like to work with us?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this would be amazing,’” Chloe said. “When you think about NIL, you don’t necessarily think about these types of opportunities. But I think that these opportunities are the best of NIL.”
The only person that knew of the campaign before it was announced was Chloe’s brother, Cam Marotta. Because Cam is the Program Support Director of Be the Difference NIL, Chloe had called him first to make sure the money was going to the right place.
Cam had confidence Chloe knew what to do, but he was still there to help her through the process.
“I just wanted to make sure that it was a legit thing that she was being offered and asked to do, when I did a little research on it and helped her write what she needed for her initial paragraph,” Cam said. “Basically being a big brother and making sure she’s going down the right path with everything she does.”
When Chloe’s mother Kim Marotta found out, she was proud but not shocked.
“Our family has always tried to instill in all the kids this nature, this idea and ethos of just giving back to the community and trying to do good,” Kim said. “I wasn’t surprised because hopefully, we’ve raised kids that think about community and others first and how you can make a difference.”
For Chloe, all her success inside the painted navy-blue lines on the Al McGuire Court is not the be-all end-all.
Making an impact beyond the basketball court is a priority.
“Marquette has helped me so much (to) build as a leader on and off the court, and that’s so important. Coach Duffy talks about it every single day, about how we can become the best version of ourselves off the court,” Chloe said. “I’d begun to use my title as (president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) but also just as a women’s basketball player to lead and become a better leader around the community.”
And the community she leads? It has banded together to support her cause.
Chloe’s original goal was $5,000, which was achieved in a day. Then, it became $10,000, which she earned a week later. Now, it is $15,000.
That’s $13,505 more than the number of rebounds Chloe and Marc have grabbed in the blue and gold.
Marquette University President Michael Lovell, Marquette vice president and director of athletics Bill Scholl, former teammate Lauren Van Kleunen and the King family are among the people that have donated.
“I was unbelievably shocked. I couldn’t even believe it,” Chloe said. “The amount of support and love I’ve gotten from so many different people all over the country, really, it’s just been just amazing.”
Contributors can donate outright, but some, like Lovell, have pledged a set amount of dollars per rebound Chloe earns.
But it is not only the Marquette faithful helping out.
Kim said her recently widowed 93-year-old great-uncle made a contribution.
“I got this handwritten letter from him about the importance of contributing to this research,” Kim said while holding up the scribbled-on check. “A personal check that he wrote out not knowing how to make a donation online or what the name of the organization was. (He) said, ‘Please make this $100 donation in my wife’s name to do what you can to help bring out research and awareness around aneurysms.’”
The donations are also coming from Chloe’s Big East rivals.
The morning that Marquette played Georgetown, Hoya senior forward Graceann Bennett donated to the charity. That same week, Seton Hall women’s basketball head coach Anthony Bozzella donated with the message, “Admire your work ethic so much!!!🙏”
“That just made me cry,” Kim said. “It just speaks volumes, that no matter how you compete on the court, in the game of life and in the game of giving back, everybody’s all in and needs to be there together.”
Chloe is aware the campaign ends April 4. As for the final count? That’s still unclear.
“We’ll have to see how quickly I can get to 15,000,” Chloe said. “April’s obviously a quite a bit of ways away. We’ll see how much I can continue to raise, I think it’d be nice to maybe get to the 20,000s.”
But to Chloe, the best part of the entire project is clear: the stories she’s heard about people also impacted by brain aneurysms.
“You don’t realize how many people it’s touched,” Chloe said. “So when people reached out to me through the donations, it’s just been amazing to hear about the community around this and the support that everyone has surrounding this situation.”
This story was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached [email protected] or on Twitter @JackAlbrightMU.
