Michigan State University Athletics
MSU Student-Athletes Join Forces With Salvation Army To Help Area Children
MSU Student-Athletes Join Forces With Salvation Army To Help Area Children
Seventeen Spartan teams adopted families to help with holiday wishes.
Dec. 7, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Seventeen Michigan State varsity athletics teams worked with the Salvation Army to help area families with their children's holiday wish lists this year. Football player Joe Tate helped coordinate the efforts for the Toys & Team program through MSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Athletes in Action.
"Student-athletes are given so many opportunities on and off the field," Tate said. "We organized this because we wanted to give back to the children in the community. It's exciting to know that we had a part in putting a smile on a child's face, especially at this time of the year."
SAAC sponsored a wrapping party for the student-athletes Sunday, Dec. 7, and will distribute the gifts next week. The teams coordinated their efforts through the Salvation Army's existing adopt-a-family program, and each was responsible for raising money for its assigned family. From there, the student-athletes shopped for the gifts using a list with the ages and gift wishes of the children.
"This was the first time the SAAC Board at Michigan State has tried to coordinate Toys & Team," said Tate, "and we want to build for the future. We're excited about the teams' response. Being able to help these families, by collecting the money and shopping for gifts, is a good way for us to impact the community."