PHOTO GALLERY

CLARION – Just in time for Thanksgiving, the Clarion University athletic department led by its Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and including all 16 varsity intercollegiate athletic programs donated approximately 7,500 non-perishable food items to the food bank of the Clarion office of Community Action, Inc. on Friday, November 18.

“I'm very proud of the effort of our SAAC Committee, student-athletes, coaches and administrators who stepped up to make this food drive a big success,” said Clarion University Athletic Director Dave Katis.

"At this time of the year, and at the start of the holiday season, its important that we all understand that giving back is an important part of the season and defines who we are as people, a department and the university,” said Katis. “For our student athletes hopefully this is something they can take with them once they leave Clarion and become leaders in their communities.”

Members of the SAAC Committee, intercollegiate athletes, coaches and administrators all helped in collecting the items and then loading a big delivery truck to take the items to the food bank were they were unloaded for general use.

“The reaction from those in charge at Community Action, who couldn't believe someone had taken the time to think of them, meant a lot to us,” Katis said.

As part of the effort to collect as many non-perishable food items as possible, the 16 teams competed to see who would collect the most items. The women's softball team collected the most at an average of 70.5 items per student-athlete. Behind softball were women's golf (32.8), swimming and diving team (32.5) and women's basketball at 27.1. Women's golf had finished first in this friendly competition the last two years before being dethroned by softball in 2011.