UMass Lowell Student-Athletes Earn $2,200 Over Holiday Break
               Proceeds Benefit Make-A-Wish, Holiday Adopt-A-Family Causes

LOWELL, MA (Dec. 29, 2006) – In tradition with its service to the City of Lowell community, the UMass Lowell Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) raised more than $2,000 to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation as well as the Committee’s Adopt-A-Family project recently.

The Committee hosted Kids Night Out on Saturday, Dec. 16 and drew more than 100 local children who took part in swimming, basketball, soccer and volleyball as well as arts and crafts. The event raised $1,200 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“The Kid's Night Out event was another successful evening for not only the kids in the community but for our fundraising efforts on behalf of the Make-A-Wish foundation,” said Joan Lehoullier, senior associate director of athletics at UML who oversees its community service efforts. “Our goal of raising $5,000.00 is a lofty one but certainly attainable. We are almost half way there between the upcoming Teddy Bear Toss and Kid's Night Out.”

Additionally, the Committee held its annual House of Hope Holiday Adopt-A-Family fundraiser which raised $1,000 to purchase Christmas gifts for a local single mother and her five children.

“We have been working with the House of Hope on this project for 10 years now and each year is as special to our student-athletes as the last,” said Joan Lehoullier, senior associate director of athletics at UML who oversees its community service efforts. “All of our teams contributed to make the holidays for this mother and her five children a happier one.”

A tradition for many years, service to the City of Lowell community has part of the student-athlete experience at UMass Lowell for the last 10 years. Along with the SAAC, each of UML’s 15 women and men’s teams integrates fundraising and community service efforts each season.

“Next semester’s projects should get us to our goal,” Lehoullier noted. “Last year we raised $3,600.00 for the foundation, the third highest amount in Division II. This year we are shooting for No. 1.”