Big South SAACs, Winthrop Honored For Samaritan's Feet Effort
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) - The Big South Conference's member institution Student Athletic Advisory Committees has been named "Samaritan of the Month" for July by Samaritan's Feet for its year-long initiative to collect shoes and raise awareness for the organization, and Winthrop University has been declared the winner of the 2009-10 Kallander Cup for its efforts in collecting nearly 2,400 shoes towards the more than 10,500 shoes received for Samaritan's Feet.
This past season, the Conference's SAAC adopted Samaritan's Feet as its Community Service Challenge and collected a total of 10,515 pairs of shoes through donations of new and used shoes, as well as texting and cash contributions. Each Big South member institution's SAAC collected athletic shoes (with an emphasis on children's sizes) at various on-campus athletic events and Conference championships throughout the year. Monetary donations were also accepted, as a $5 donation equaled one pair of shoes. In addition, a texting program was implemented that allowed $5 donations each time a school-specific "key word" was texted at an event to a provided number.
Winthrop, which won the Kallander Cup in 2008-09, was presented the award this past weekend during the Big South's fifth annual Leadership Conference in Black Mountain, N.C. This year's event featured 30 student-athletes from around the Conference, and focused on developing leadership skills and challenging the participants to return to their respective campuses and lead their fellow student-athletes.
The Big South Conference SAAC created the Kallander Cup in 2006-07 to engage student-athletes from all Big South member institutions in a year-long fundraising competition for the benefit of a selected charity. Past beneficiaries include the Make-A-Wish Foundation and local school systems. The Big South member institution that raises the most funds annually is awarded the Kallander Cup at the end of the year. Past winners of the Kallander Cup are Liberty University (2007, 2008) and Winthrop (2008).