While the winter weather may not appear conducive to outdoor activities, many sports teams take advantage of the holidays to host fundraisers.

Boys lacrosse, girls and boys basketball, and crew have creative fund raising ideas for the winter months.

Every year, boys lacrosse raises money by selling Christmas trees and wreaths to the Whitman community. Standing in the freezing cold may sound unappealing, but the boys bring in a few thousand dollars in profit for the all-sports booster club. The Christmas tree sale will be on Dec. 11.

“It’s the most important event for the team of the year,” parent volunteer Mary Ann Wagner said.

Crew is also getting in on the wreath business. Its annual November wreath sale nets between $16,000 to $20,000 a year to pay for rental fees of boathouse space, repairs, purchasing new oars or other needed equipment such as erg machines and stationary bikes. Each rower must sell at least 15 wreaths, adding up to almost 1200 wreaths.

This January, the boys and girls basketball teams join up to run a hoops clinic for elementary and middle school students. Together the teams raise over $1,000 each year.

In addition to raising money, the clinic also provides the team with more exposure and leads to larger crowds.

“It has been growing in popularity because kids go to the games and realize that’s what they want to do,” girls basketball coach Peter Kenah said. “It’s always well-received by the community.”