Paw Prints E-Newsletter: Volume 52

12/21/2018 3:54:00 PM

Fom the desk of the Director of the Director of Athletics...

Hello Wildcat fans and Daemen supporters!

"For it is in giving that we receive…." Society equates college athletic departments with sports, competition, scholarships, deep pockets and swag. Does anyone equate athletic departments as a classroom with all staff as teachers of philanthropy? What I have found is that Daemen Athletics does teach student-athletes that their actions impact more than just themselves. We teach them that it impacts their team, the program, the department and the College. We don't just reference their actions in terms of good decision making and appropriate behaviors. We also discuss how they can engage with the community that supports them. We try to foster environments that promote caring and respect.

As we go through another joyous holiday season, I'm reminded of how much our student-athletes give of themselves to a community that supports them in so many different ways. This semester, our student-athletes have been participating in many initiatives to give back to the local community. The community service projects have been wide-ranging, from reading to kids at local elementary schools, to their continuous involvement with our growing Center for Allied and Unified Sport and Exercise program.

Just recently, our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee sponsored a food drive. Canned and boxed food items were collected from across our campus, and then donated to the Tigers Den Food Bank located here in Snyder/Amherst. Our student-athletes also raised money and purchased gifts for the Adopt An Angel program. Through a partnership with Baker Victory Preventive Services, those gifts went to children in need this holiday season.

Add it all up, and our student-athletes have helped Daemen rank seventh out of more than 300 NCAA Division II institutions nationwide for community service hours performed, as tracked by the NCAA's Helper-Helper app. The ability to give one's time is something small, yet valuable. It's a lesson that will take them far in life, no matter what or where their professional pursuits may take them.

I hope in reading this that you may feel inspired to give back to your community in some meaningful way. I wish you and your families the happiest of holiday seasons, and I hope to see you at Lumsden Gymnasium in the near future as we'll host five basketball games in an eight-day span from Dec. 29 through Jan. 5.

Thanks for reading, and as always GO WILDCATS!

Traci Murphy
Director of Athletics

DAEMEN ATHLETICS - UPCOMING GAMES & EVENTS
Dec. 29 - Men's Basketball vs. St. Michael's
Dec. 31 - Men's Basketball vs. St. Rose
Jan. 2 - Men's Basketball vs. St. Anselm
Jan. 3 - Women's Basketball vs. St. Anselm
Jan. 5 - Women's Basketball vs. St. Michael's
Jan. 11 - Men's Volleyball vs. Alderson Broaddus (1st-ever match!)
Jan. 13 - Men's & Women's Basketball vs. Queens (Hometown Heroes Games)
Jan. 26 - 5th Annual Daemen Tennis Carnival

FOR A COMPREHENSIVE LISTING OF ALL DAEMEN GAMES & EVENTS, VISIT OUR COMPOSITE CALENDAR AT DAEMENWILDCATS.COM