Even in the midst of a global pandemic, many AMCC coaches and student-athletes still found a way to give back to others.
The Penn State Behrend Athletic Department participated in "Operation Lion Pantry." The Lion's Pantry provides free supplemental nutrition and hygiene products to Behrend students who are in need. The program is completely free and committed to protecting the confidentiality of all participants. The athletic department collecetd donations on Monday, August 24 in the Junker Center to help fill and support the pantry.
Hilbert College women's basketball coach, Amy Senefelder, traveled to Tennessee over the Christmas holiday to help her parents with an annual family tradition. "My family blends toys they purchase along with donations made by local stores and vendors, and they hand them out to kids in need on Christmas day. It's a yearly event and I feel very fortunate to have been a part of this year's distribution." Typically the event is held at one large location however this year, due to COVID-19, they went door-to-door and handed out the gifts. In 2020 over $4,000 worth of toys were handed out to local children in the Cookeville community. Toys included coloring material, backpacks, stuffed animals, skateboards, as well as gift cards for parents, and much more.
Alfred State College student-athletes certainly found a way to stay busy during the Covid pandemic with three different outreach projects spread amongst its athletic department.
The Alfred State Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) made three $100 donations to help those in need during the Holiday season. Donations were given to the PLATE, ACCORD's Community Action Angels, and Billy Schu's restaurant. SAAC partnered with the new on-campus food pantry the PLATE with a donation this year. The PLATE campus food pantry is a source of healthy, non-perishable food as well as personal care items for students of Alfred State. ACCORD's Community Action Angels provides gift cards to children between 11 and 18 years old during the holiday season. Alfred State's University Police Department has partnered this holiday with ACCORD. Billy Shu's located on Seneca St. in downtown Hornell has a longstanding tradition of providing Thanksgiving Dinner to those in need. The restaurant will deliver meals to those in need this year on Thanksgiving day.
At the end of the first week of classes at the Alfred State wrestling team spent their Saturday morning working on a community clean up project. In total, 30 members of the program, student-athletes and staff, gathered armed with gloves and garbage bags to pick up around campus and around the village of Alfred. In total over a dozen garbage bags were filled.
The Alfred State volleyball team hosted a Virtual Pink Pride Event that raised $750 for Allegany County Cancer Services. The team sold raffle tickets and held a Facebook Live event to announce the winners of 11 different gift cards. They raffled off four $25 gift cards to Terra Cotta/Collegiate, two $25 gift cards to Brandy's Cup of Joe, two $25 gift cards to Club 57, two $25 gift cards to Sprague's Maple House, and a $50 gift card to ACES Campus Store.