Thanks-for-Giving Drive Exceeds Expectations
12/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | General
After roughly a month of collecting jackets, hats, gloves and other cold-weather clothing items, Liberty Athletics' "Thanks-for-Giving" drive came to a close on Dec. 2, when a group of student-athletes delivered nearly 600 articles of clothing to The Daily Bread in Lynchburg.
The campaign was another initiative from Liberty's Academic Affairs for Athletics office, organized by Life Skills Coordinator Morgaine Godwin.
Initially, the drive was scheduled to wrap up on Nov. 17, but after a great response from student-athletes, the collection time was extended for two additional weeks.
"The first response to the drive was extremely positive and we received a ton of clothing from the athletics staff as well as from the student-athletes," commented Godwin. "It was brought to my attention by the student-athletes that if they had the Thanksgiving break, they would be able to gather even more clothing from home and they would be able to ask their friends, families and churches."
Student-athletes and staff members answered the call by donating in a variety of ways, including giving used items, purchasing items for donation or providing money to go out and make purchases for the drive.
Different types of shirts were the most donated items, with 275 being given to The Daily Bread. This effort was thanks in part to Lynchburg's Old Navy store, which extended Black Friday sales to Liberty's helping cause.
Hats, socks and scarves were the next most-donated items, with all of their donations numbering in the 60s. Additionally, 50 jackets, 40 bottoms and 20 pairs of socks were given, along with a number of kids' items.
"For this being our first-ever year of doing Thanks-for-Giving, it has been an absolute success. What the student-athletes and the athletics staff have been able to do for the drive has been paramount to its success," commented Kristie Beitz, Liberty's Associate Athletic Director for Academic Affairs.
Put together as another competitive community event for Liberty's athletic teams, results were tracked to give recognition for the team with the most donations. The women's lacrosse team came out on top once again, providing the most goods for donation.
In addition to the clothing, personal care items were also packaged into individual bags to donate to the organization. A total of 65 bags were packed with items for the Daily Bread to give out.
"At the beginning of the semester, Kristie Beitz challenged each and every one of our student-athletes as well as our academic staff to pay it forward, and that is what I believe we are all doing!" concluded Godwin.
To continue to track Liberty's Academic for Athletics and their involvement in the community, check out their Facebook and Twitter pages.
