Ninth Annual SAAC Christmas School Supply Drive
12/8/2015 5:00:00 PM | Athletics
Thanks to the efforts of student-athletes from all 17 Sam Houston State sports teams plus the athletic training staff, more than 60 under-privileged children at Sam Houston Elementary School will have school supplies for the coming year.
The project is part of the Southland Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's ninth annual "Christmas in the Southland" program in which each of the league's university SAAC groups organize an activity benefiting their local community.
Sam Houston SAAC committee members who participated in the delivery of the school supplies included Jordan Church and Lance Miles (baseball); Aurimas Majauskas and Jesse Lopez (men's basketball); Ruth Amaku, Ellizabeth Lyssy, Ana Moreno, Francis Porter and Jay Roberson (track and field), Ragen Henderson and Zach Stevens (football) Jordan Jarzombek (soccer) Ashley Kopps (softball) and Maddie Mortimore and Mila Milanovich (tennis). Roberson is Sam Houston's Southland SAAC representative.
Each Christmas for the past nine years, Sam Houston SAAC has received from the administration at Sam Houston Elementary School a list of supplies that are needed to replenish the classrooms and help those children who do not have the resources to make it throught the year.
“This is an instant impact project for those children who need the help and we are glad we get to do this for them,” Associate Athletic Director of Student Services Chris Thompson said. “The student-athletes look forward to delivering the supplies each Christmas holiday.”
The supplies (and Bearkat teams which provided them) were Kleenex (men's and women's golf and cross country), scissors with round edges (men's and women's basketball), bradded folders (bowling and tennis), glue sticks (volleyball and track), hand sanitizer (trainers), No. 2 pencils (baseball and softball) and crayons (football and soccer).
“This is a perfect time for the kids,” Kelli Vossler, counselor at Sam Houston Elementary School who accepted the delivery of the school supplies, said. “We're running short of so many of these supplies. It's really exciting for the school to receive a Christmas present like this. And it means so much to the kids to see college student-athletes taking the time to deliver the supplies themselves.”
