Asbury University Sponsors Toy Drive
Christmas is not supposed to be a time of need, especially for children. Instead of wondering if they will get any gifts at all, children should be allowed to dream of all the things Santa might bring. Those dreams were made more possible this year because of the work of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) at Asbury University.
The SAAC, made up of two representatives from each of Asbury's 15 intercollegiate sports raised money within their teams to brighten Christmas for children in eastern Kentucky. In addition, Asbury was awarded a $300 grant by its conference, the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference through its Champions of Character initiative to help with the project. The project was a toy drive and Asbury partnered with Southland Christian Church in Nicholasville to distribute the toys to needy children. 31 bags of toys were dropped off on Thursday, December 9th, ready for eager children.
"I'm very proud of all of our student athletes," said Ron Anderson, Assistant Director of Athletics at Asbury. "All of them are investing in education, yet they gave of themselves to those who have less for Christmas. I appreciate each of the students who helped make this happen."
All of the members of the SAAC helped to raise funds and different groups purchased the toys, packaged them, and then delivered them. Kelsey Robinson of the Women's Softball Team was a part of the group who purchased the toys.
"It's amazing how a few minutes out of my day could change a child's Christmas morning," said Kelsey. "All I did was shop, and now a child will wake up and have a gift under their tree that would not have been there otherwise. It's an awesome feeling."
All of the intercollegiate teams at Asbury participate in service and mission opportunities. Check back for future stories on Asbury University athletes.