VCU SAAC TO HOLD HOLIDAY DONATION COLLECTION AT BASKETBALL
12-7-04
RICHMOND, Va.. – The Virginia Commonwealth’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee has organized a Holiday Donation Collection to be held before two VCU men’s basketball games, Richmond and La Salle.
The S.A.A.C. prepared this program in hopes to assist organizations to help bring holiday cheer to the lives of others around the community. The materials collected will be distributed to Pennies From Heaven, Freedom House, The Daily Planet and the YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter.
The committee will collect canned food, clothing, coats and toys starting one hour prior to the pair of men’s home contests and five-minutes into the first half of each game. The first collection will take place preceding the match-up versus Richmond on Dec. 11. Student-athlete committee members will continue to collect materials before the game against La Salle on Dec. 18. Both contests are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start.
The Student Athlete Advisory Committee’s purpose is to provide an open forum for student-athletes to voice their concerns, comment on proposed university, conference and NCAA legislation, and to receive information on rules and events that effect the lives of student-athletes and relay that information back to the student-athletes they represent. The committee is made up of at least one member from every varsity sport, along with an executive board made up of four chair members.
The S.A.A.C. members promote efficient communication between the VCU athletic department and the student-athletes. They also actively encourage more involvement of the student-athletes in campus and community projects. The committee is also responsible for designing and implementing programs, which will encourage academic achievement, health promotion, social responsibility and general awareness.
If you would like more information about the Holiday Donation Collection or the S.A.A.C., feel free to contact Peyton N. Owens, III, at 828-4950.
CAA BLOOD CHALLENGE AT VCU, BASKETBALL TICKETS FOR DONORS
11-11-04
 RICHMOND, Va. – The Colonial Athletic Association has scheduled the third annual Blood Challenge to take place this fall. VCU will hold the CAA Blood Challenge on Tuesday, Nov. 16 in the Student Commons second floor Ball Room from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Each faculty/staff member and non-VCU employee who donates will receive a coupon for two complimentary general admission tickets to the men’s basketball game against LaSalle at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday, Dec. 18, at the ALLTEL Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.
Each CAA institution has been designated one day during the months of September, October or November to conduct a campus-wide blood drive. The CAA has assembled this annual event in hopes of building on the overwhelming success achieved in the inaugural campaign. Last year’s event resulted in nearly 1,926 attempted donors and 1,409 productive units of blood collected from the 10 CAA campuses.
There are three ways to register for the VCU Blood Challenge. Potential donors can register within the VCU Student Commons everyday (11/8-11/15), register on-line at www.vadonor.com and use the sponsor code of “VCU”, or register the day of the event at the door.
The University of Delaware was the winner of the 2003 CAA Blood Challenge, with 408 attempted donors and 311 units of blood collected. It was the largest single-day blood drive in the history of the Blood Bank of Delaware/Eastern Shore. At VCU, 65 units were converted from 98 participants that acme to assist. VCU would like to increase the participation this season.
The CAA Blood Challenge was developed by the league presidents as a fun way to emphasize the critical importance of donating blood.
VCU will also receive support and assistance from a number of local businesses.
Virginia Commonwealth invites everyone from the campus and the surrounding community to come and participate in the 2004 CAA Blood Challenge. If you need more information, feel free to contact Peyton N. Owens, III, at 828-4950.
FULL WEEKEND FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES IN THE COMMUNITY
10-5-04
Photo Gallery
 RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia Commonwealth student-athletes kept busy within the community the weekend of Oct. 1-2. With four large events going on, five teams were active with community service projects.
On Friday and Saturday, the men’s track and field program assisted with the Ukrop’s X-Country Festival at Maymont. The VCU student-athletes gave a hand as field marshals during the race.
Saturday started with the men’s basketball program working the Hanover Safe Place Pumpkin Run in Ashland, Va. Nick George, Jesse Pellot-Rosa and graduate assistant Kenny DeWeese participated as event marshals while supporting A Race to End Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. The race took place at the Ashland Berry Farm.
 VCU’s women’s basketball and baseball members participated in Kids Day America in Glen Allen, Va. The annual event is dedicated to children’s health, safety and environmental awareness. The baseball team assisted with monitoring the dinosaur moonwalk, as the women’s basketball program supervised the jumbo blow-up slide. Cody Epply, Sergio Miranda and B.J. Wickham represented the baseball team. Michele Cosel, Vera Chistova, Maria Giovannetti, Natalia Oehninger, Miranda Smith and LaKea Jones attended from the women’s basketball program. Manager Caitlin Pamczuk and assistant coach Erin Batth also took part in the activities.
Both the men’s soccer and men’s basketball participated in the SportsCenter’s Rams Reaching Out VCU Play Day at the ALLTEL Pavilion at the Siegel Center on Saturday afternoon. Children from Carver Elementary attended the program, which was to introduce and teach the students about the VCU Siegel Center facilities and Rams’ athletics.
 Julian Capel, Drew Johnson, Jamal Shuler, Renardo Dixon, Sam Faulk and former men’s basketball player Kevin Moore assisted the children in basketball fundamentals. They concluded the students’ time at the basketball station with a game including both players and attendees.
The men’s soccer program introduced the students to three different components of soccer including dribbling and juggling. They Rams soccer team then taught teamwork and communication during a pick-up game with the students in attendance. The children took shots against Rams’ keeper Saul Montero. Brian Morris, Shane DuBay, Veit Schaldinger and Rob Szymanik also assisted in the one-on-one lessons.
If you would like more information about community service projects with the student-athletes, feel free to contact Peyton N. Owens, III, at 828-4950.
RAM ATHLETES KICKING OFF SEASON FULL OF COMMUNITY SERVICE
9-13-04
 RICHMOND, Va. - Since the spring, Virginia Commonwealth student-athletes have continued with their community involvement. The 2004-05 athletic season is on its way and the student-athletes are ready to expand and reach out to the community in the surrounding area.
Recently, Scott Sizemore and Nate Anderson paid Massey Cancer Center a visit. The two baseball members sat and talked with a patient about athletic events. Sizemore and Anderson were able to talk about the VCU Baseball team and other professional sports with the patient. The two players look forward to visiting the hospital again to assist in bringing comfort to the patients during their stay.
 In May, members of the men’s basketball team assisted Chalkley Elementary School with a motivational program for the Standards of Learning testing. Dominic Jones, Michael Doles, Nick George, Derrick Reid spoke about how important it is to study and work hard during the students’ time in school. They motivated the students to set goals and study hard for the upcoming tests.
Doles, George and Reid spent that same afternoon at Midlothian High School. The trio spoke to ninth graders about making the transition to high school. The afternoon was spent answering questions and just talking about the big move.
In the spring, the VCU Athletic Department and the women’s soccer team dedicated a Bald Cypress tree to be planted at Sports Backers Stadium in memory of former midfielder Nicole Megaloudis. A plaque in memory of Megaloudis was also placed in front of the newly planted tree, which is located on the north side of the stadium.
If you would like more information about community service projects with the student-athletes, feel free to contact Peyton N. Owens, III, at 828-4950.
Photo Gallery
Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3
|
