America East campuses made sure this holiday season was
a time for giving. Each campus’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) along
with a number of teams participated in or coordinated events to spread a little
holiday cheer throughout their respective communities.
The University at Albany athletic department again
participated in the Adopt-a-Family Program. Each athletic team was paired up
with a family in need from the Capital Region. The athletes shopped for gifts
for the families and then SAAC held a gift wrapping party. Read the story, here.
Binghamton announced a partnership earlier this month
with a non-profit ‘A Room to Heal’ and the student group Colleges Against
Cancer called ‘Bearcat Buddies.’ The initiative is designed to improve the quality
of life for children diagnosed with cancer. You can read more about the
Bearcats’ new program here.
Boston University SAAC volunteered at numerous soup
kitchens and helped serve Thanksgiving dinners to families in need back in
November. The Boston Children’s Hospital is again grateful for the upwards of
540 teddy bears collected at the Teddy Bear Toss for the sick children at a
recent men’s hockey game. The event also raised $1,300 for Special Olympics
Massachusetts. Read the story, here. The Terrier athletic department also spread holiday cheer through their 15th Annual Holiday Reading Program, which brought Boston University student-athletes into Boston Public Schools to read to school children. Read the story, here.
Hartford put together a food drive right before
Thanksgiving and hosted Howie’s Sportsmanship Academy to teach local children
about the values of sportsmanship. Check out a video of the Academy, here.
Maine’s athletics department was also busy this holiday
season volunteering in a number of different capacities and raising money for
great causes. SAAC collected toys and donations for the Marine Corps. Toys for
Tots program at all Black Bear home events that will be distributed to children
in the greater Bangor area. Meanwhile, members of several teams volunteered as
gift wrappers, donated gifts for children in the Salvation Army Angel Tree
program and collected gifts for families in need in the Old Town-Orono area.
UMBC participated in a number of community service
efforts this fall. Soles for Souls, an event organized by SAAC, received over
200 pairs of sneakers which will be given to those less fortunate. America East
representative to the national SAAC, Curtis Schickner, blogged about the event
earlier this year. You can also read about UMBC’s other community service
efforts, here.
UNH organized “Making a Difference Month” in November when
the athletic department hosted the Wildcat Food Drive and continued its efforts
with Operation Hat Trick. The food donations were distributed to the New
Hampshire Food Back for the fifth straight year. Read about the Food Drive and
other community service efforts at UNH, here.
SAAC at Stony Brook donated over 1,100 non-perishable food
items to a local food pantry in Port Jefferson, N.Y., while many
student-athletes helped serve their fellow classmates at the midnight breakfast
to kick off the final exam period. A handful of teams also held clinics and
camps for local youth. Read about the volunteers at the midnight breakfast,
here.
Vermont got into the giving spirit serving as a host
site for the Marine Corps League’s Toys for Kids Drive at the Dec. 17 men’s
basketball and hockey games. In addition, many Catamount teams volunteered as
waiters/waitresses dressed as elves, delivered teddy bears and wrapped gifts
for those in need. Read about the Toys For Kids Drive, here.