Sport Events and Making a Difference 1 Running Head: SPORT EVENTS AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE The Role of Belief in Making a Difference in Enhancing Attachment to a Charity Sport Event

Charity sport events provide charitable organizations with a mechanism to communicate the mission of the charity to a large participant base, while fostering a meaningful event experience for event participants. This research examines the relationship among motives for charity sport event participation, participant belief in making a difference and attachment to the event. In making this examination, an online questionnaire was administered to participants in the 2007 Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) LIVESTRONG Challenge (N=568). Through structural equation modeling, the results demonstrate that belief in making a difference mediates the relationship between social and charity motives and attachment. Suggestions are made for marketing communication highlighting belief in making a difference via rituals, symbols, and social media to assist in attracting and retaining participants