INDIANAPOLIS---From car washes to change drives to bake sales and even kickball tournaments, members of the NCAA Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and their respective communities rallied together to raise $208,022 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation during the 2006-07 academic year. The final total more than doubled the group’s fundraising goal for the year and represented 100 percent participation from all Division II conferences.

“One of the many initiatives that make Division II unique is the commitment from SAAC to represent service through the Make-A-Wish Foundation,” said Mike Racy, Division II Vice President. “Our student-athletes have taken great pride and ownership of this issue and have built upon its success year after year. They are an illustration of why the attribute of service is so important to our division.”

The Division II SAAC has a longstanding commitment to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that grants the heartfelt wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. The student-athlete group has raised almost $500,000 since the launch of its fundraising initiative for the charity, with the most recent efforts marking the largest amount raised by the group in any single academic year.

“The support of the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is especially gratifying to our organization because of all of the hard work, time and dedication that the student-athletes pour into the effort,” said David Williams, Make-A-Wish Foundation of America president and chief executive officer. “They rally together and connect with their communities, and the end result helps make dreams come true for the wish children and their families.”

The total funds raised during the 2006-07 academic year will go towards granting the life-affirming wishes of approximately 35 wish kids.

“Our involvement with the Make-A-Wish Foundation reflects more than just the attribute of service within the Division II identity,” said SAAC Chair Megan Burd, a softball student-athlete at Wheeling Jesuit University. “It reflects student-athletes’ resourcefulness and passion in the way they approach service, and it shows how institutions want to engage with their communities.”

Two conferences – the California Collegiate Athletic Association and the Northeast-10 Conference – received donations from their entire membership. The Northeast-10 raised the most money with more than $27,000 in donations. The Sunshine State Conference and the East Coast Conference raised more than $15,000 and $10,000 respectively. The Division II Presidents Council, a group of 15 chancellors and presidents, pledged $15,000.  

Many of the conferences created fundraising events unique to the effort, including a kickball tournament; a Kid’s Day with face painting, food and games; scooter races and Kid’s Night Out event, among others.

About NCAA Division II

NCAA Division II is one of the three membership divisions at the National Collegiate Athletic Association, a volunteer organization comprising more than 1,200 institutions, conferences and affiliated organizations. Division II is a group of institutions and conferences that serve more than 75,000 student-athletes nationwide, including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The emphasis for the student-athlete experience in Division II is a comprehensive program of learning and development. The Division II approach provides growth opportunities through academic achievement, learning in high-level athletic competition and the development of societal attitudes in service to the community. The balance and integration of these different areas of learning provide Division II student-athletes with a path to graduation while cultivating a variety of skills and knowledge for life ahead.

About the Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Born in 1980 when a group of caring people helped a young boy fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer, the Foundation is now the largest wish-granting charity in the world, with 69 chapters in the United States and its territories. With the help of generous donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants nearly 12,700 wishes a year and has granted more than 150,000 wishes in the U.S. since its inception. For more information about the Make-A-Wish Foundation, visit www.wish.org and discover how you can share the power of a wish®.

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