FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2013
Courtesy of Saint Michael's Athletics Communications
COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's soccer team volunteered at the Lund organization's 16th annual adoption picnic on Sunday at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, serving in capacities as wide ranging as helping with parking to painting young children's faces during the day.
A comprehensive treatment center and family support agency, Lund offers an array of integrated services in response to the needs of pregnant or parenting teens and women, adoptive families, and children. Lund touts itself as having made a positive and lasting difference in the lives of women, children and families in Vermont and beyond for more than 120 years, serving more than 5,000 people in Vermont each year and hundreds more throughout the country.
On Sunday, Purple Knights helped with raffles, ticket sales, arts and crafts, and a ball pit and bouncy castle, while also organizing a soccer game for children and assisting with running food to staffers.
Senior Chris George and sophomore Tino Tomasi have seen firsthand how organizations such as Lund can positively affect families, as one of George's siblings is adopted, while Tomasi was adopted after growing up in Ghana. His adoptive mother, Theresa, was honored earlier this year with Lund's Heart of the Community Award after adopting 28 children over the last 51 years, and aiding 9,000 adoptions through the years via her work with Lund. She previously served as the group's executive director and on the Board of Trustees.
The adoption picnic is Lund's largest - and one of its longest running - annual events, welcoming more than 1,000 people each year. The picnic is a celebration for children who have been adopted through Lund, celebrating the families created through adoption. Lund works hard to get a variety of items donated for the picnic, while families provide much of the food. There are games and activities for children of all ages. For more information about Lund, visit lundvt.org.
