SVSU Earns Division II Community Engagement Award Of Excellence
UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - For the second time
in as many years, the Saginaw Valley State University Athletic
Department has been awarded the Division II Community Engagement
Award of Excellence as the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference’s (GLIAC) award recipient for its 2011 Breast
Cancer Awareness Event that was held in February.
The SVSU athletic department claimed the award for the 2010-11
academic year for its Third Annual Breast Cancer Awareness
Recognition Event that took place in February. Saginaw
Valley invited breast cancer survivors and a guest to the SVSU
men’s and women’s home basketball games against
Northern Michigan, where the survivors were honored at halftime of
the men’s game and provided with a gift basket. SVSU
women’s basketball players escorted the survivors to
mid-court, where they received their baskets that were filled with
donated items from businesses in the community. All survivors
were invited to a special reception following the men’s
game. Fifty-eight survivors participated in this year's
event, which has raised a total of $9,519 in contributions to the
Covenant Foundation for the Breast Health Center CARE Fund over the
past three years.
The 2011 Breast Cancer Recognition event was made possible from
the generous contributions provided by Arbonne Agent, Beth LeBlanc,
Avon Regional Manager, Kristy Dashnier, State Farm Insurance agent
Karl Briggs, Burt Watson Chevrolet of Freeland, Dr. Ernie
Balcueva, Envision Eye Care and Wildfire Credit Union. The
fourth-annual recognition is tentatively scheduled for Saturday,
February 18, 2012.
“Our Breast Cancer Awareness Event was a great success this
year. We almost doubled the number of survivors we honored
compared to last year and were able to raise money for a great
cause. It was great being able to meet all of these
phenomenal women and a joy to be involved in such an excellent
event. We're privileged to have our event recognized
nationally and are looking forward to an even bigger and better
breast cancer awareness event next year,” commented program
director and head athletic trainer Jackie Detrick.
The national winner will be recognized June 2 at the Division II
Community Engagement Workshop in Indianapolis and will receive a
$500 award.
The Community Engagement Award of Excellence recognizes Division
II institutions that successfully “build bridges” with
the communities in which they are located. The commitment to
help member institutions build stronger civic relationships is a
central part of the Division II philosophy.
