Murray State University Athletics
Racer Athletics Giving Back During Holiday Season
12/17/2010 3:11:48 PM | General
“It's always important, especially this time of year, to give back to the community and those in need,” said Director of Athletics Allen Ward. “I'm proud of our student-athletes, our SAAC, and my staff for taking on these projects and appreciate the tremendous support of our Racers fan base. I hope we've made a difference in the lives of those we touched.”
All 300+Racers student-athletes participated in the annual food drive for the Needline of Murray-Calloway County Christmas Baskets. The Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) holds a contest between teams to see which one can collect the most non-perishable items or money for eggs. In 2010 the department collected 5,275 food items and raised $600 to purchase 600 dozen eggs for a total of 5,875 items.
“I am extremely grateful with the level of support for this service project,” said Assistant AD for Compliance Steve Harrell. “I hope that it was an opportunity for members of the community to meet our student-athletes and build relationships that will continue to foster community relationships. I especially want to thank Dr. Tammy Turner in Humanities and Fine Arts for her involvement, the women's golf team for the incredible effort that they put into the project, and Kroger for helping with the purchasing of eggs.”
The team that collected the most items for the drive was the women's golf team. The nine member team collected a total of 1,784 food items and donated $123 dollars. The other top producers for the drive were the cheerleaders, football, baseball and men's golf.
The basketball teams got involved with a second drive, but this time it was to collect toys for the Murray Family Resource Center's Tiger Christmas. The teams collected toys at the men's game versus Bethel (Dec. 15) from fans at the game. Fans that brought in a new toy were given admission to the game for $1. The department took in 34 new toys for local children.
“As a department we wanted to do something for the community again this season,” said Ticket Manager Susan Darnell. “Last year the toy drive was a huge success. We had donations from our patrons and from our staff in the athletic department. The athletic family of MSU just wanted to help make Christmas happen for a few boys and girls.”
The student-athletes are not the only ones that get involved to donate to local charities, as the staff of the athletics department got together to Adopt a Family through the Calloway Country Family Resource Center. This is the second year that the department has contributed to the program.
This year the department was able to completely fulfill the wish list of a family of four.
“The athletics family at MSU is a very compassionate and giving family,” Darnell added. “This is the second year we have adopted a family and again we had great success with it. It is nice to be able to provide something for a family that might not be able to have a Christmas without some help this year.”
