| Pink Game the Latest in a Series of Service Projects for LVC Athletics |
02.06.13 |
|
1 of 4
Student-athletes at Lebanon Valley College are required to commit 10 hours per year to community service, but few stick to the minimum. The commitment goes so much further and extends into a wide array of service. Here is a glimpse at some of the projects conducted this year.
This week, the women’s basketball team holds its sixth annual Pink Game in support of the American Cancer Society of Lebanon and the Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute. Through generous donations from area businesses, the team is able to provide great giveaways and attract season-high attendance numbers annually.
The primary fundraiser for the cause is the team’s jersey auction, which sees its specially designed jerseys auctioned through online and in-person bidding.
In preparation for the game, the team visited the Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute last week, spending time with patients, doctors, and nurses to get a first-hand perspective on the research and treatment methods used at the hospital and how donation money is used.
“This visit was very special because we got to visit with the patients that are experiencing these therapies,” head coach Todd Goclowski said. “Talking with the doctors on the tour, as well, proved to be an inspiration for myself and the team. We’re certainly carry that inspiration into the Pink Game.”
In the fall, all LVC student-athletes wore pink shoelaces for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in a partnership with the Good Samaritan Health System. The Good Samaritan Pink Shoelaces Campaign was designed to remind loved ones to get screened for breast cancer. Members of the men's and women's cross country, field hockey, football, ice hockey, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball teams each participated.
Women’s soccer also donned pink jerseys in support of its annual Pink On the Pitch program. For the month of October, the team wore its custom jerseys and held an online auction to benefit the American Cancer Society.
The ice hockey team saw opportunity for service when it was granted the chance to play on outdoor ice at Hersheypark Stadium in January. Head coach Don Parsons partnered with the Mario Lemieux Foundation to help fund cancer research and treatment through a jersey auction that featured items signed by Lemieux.
Not all fundraising at LVC surrounds cancer research. The hockey team raised more than $21,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project in its third annual Military Appreciation Night in October. Each year, the team auctions custom military-themed jerseys and sells T-shirts in support of the WWP. To date, the game has raised more than $56,000 in its three years.
Spring teams are already becoming active in their commitments to service. The men’s and women’s track & field programs recently volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, crafting cardboard cut-out play homes and hand puppets for children involved in Habitat projects in the local community.
The men’s lacrosse team got an early start in October, when it participated in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk in Philadelphia in support of a team member’s family. This was the second year that members walked in support of Tara Krasley, sister of LVC junior goalkeeper Kevin Krasley. The walk raised more than $1 million for the foundation.
Keep up with the community service efforts of all LVC students at www.lvc.edu/community-service and GoDutchmen.com.
|
|
|