Fairfield, CT- The Fairfield University Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) has several goals each academic year, one of which is to select a service project in which all 20 teams can participate. Four years ago the Stags found an organization, Give2theTroops, which would enable them to reach that goal.
"Our student-athletes are terrific at wanting to be involved and supportive of the communities they live in," said Alison Sexton, Senior Associate AD and Senior Woman Administrator. "Our student-athletes realize how fortunate they are to attend Fairfield University and they want to be supportive of the men and women who represent America and provide them with that opportunity."
Every year, shortly before Thanksgiving, the Fairfield student-athletes gather a variety of items to send to U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The teams collect movies, books, non-perishable food items and other goods that the soldiers do not always have access to. In addition, the Stags this year provided Christmas decorations, candy canes, and other holiday items.
Jill Piacquadio, a senior field hockey player and SAAC officer was charged with organizing this year's collection. Under her guidance the Stags collected 15 large boxes of goods to be sent to the troops. Items were selected this year from a list provided by Give2theTroops which had specific requests for items from soldiers serving overseas. One item stuck out, and the Stags added a personal touch to this year's drive.
"While reviewing the list of requests from the soldiers we saw that the one item that was highlighted as most important was letters," said Piacquadio. "Seeing letters as the most requested item made me realize how important it is that we all take the time to let these soldiers know how much we appreciate what they do. In the end, every athlete wrote a handwritten thank you letter or holiday card. As we unloaded the boxes at the drop off, handing over the stack of letters is what made me the most proud of what our student-athletes had done."
Give2thetroops was founded in 2002 and since that time has sent care packages to over 1 million American service men and women. The group, through donations such as those provided by the student-athletes at Fairfield, has sent more than 96,000 boxes of items and 20 million letters and cards.
The SAAC was recognized for their efforts and were presented an award by Connecticut congressmen Christopher Shays, on behalf of Give2the Troops in September 2007.