May 6, 2009

 

CLARION – The Clarion University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is making a $1,000 donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation through the NCAA Division II/Make-A-Wish Foundation Program.

 

Clarion’s student-athletes raised the money during the 2008-2009 school year through a combination of fundraisers including two spare change collection events and a Parents’ Night Out event.

 

“We are pleased to be able to make this donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation,” Clarion’s SAAC President Rich Eckert (Versailles/McKeesport), a junior on the men’s swimming team, said. “This is a great opportunity for student-athletes at Clarion and other NCAA Division II institutions to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation while being active in our community.” 

 

Clarion’s donation will be forwarded to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) which will then pass the donation along with the donations from other PSAC school to the NCAA. The NCAA then will make pass on the donations from the PSAC as well as other NCAA Division II conferences to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

 

NOTES – The partnership between the NCAA Division II and the Make-A-Wish Foundation provides Division II campuses and communities the opportunity to come together and join in helping to grant the wishes of children suffering from life-threatening medical conditions.  The partnership was started by the NCAA Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in 2003 and has collected over $765,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in five years, constituting one of the largest grassroots contributions to Make-A-Wish. The PSAC and its members became directly involved in 2007 and the conference has collected over$22,000 since then including over $3,000 from Clarion.

 

ABOUT THE MAKE-WISH FOUNDATION

 

The Make-A-Wish Foundation, which was founded in 1980, is a global charity that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. It has granted over 171,000 wishes since its inception. More information on the foundation and local chapter information can be found at http://www.wish.org/.

ABOUT SAAC

 

The mission of the NCAA SAAC is to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity, protecting student-athlete welfare and fostering a positive student-athlete image. More information on Clarion University’s SAAC can be found at http://www.clariongoldeneagles.com/saac/clau-saac.html.