RICHARDSON, Texas –– For the fourth consecutive year, the Texas Lutheran University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee joins the other 14 American Southwest Conference member institutions in “Make a Change in 14 Days,” a service project collecting loose coins to raise funds for local charitable organizations.
The “Make a Change in 14 Days” campaign started Monday on the TLU campus, and it will run until Feb. 7. Arrangements are in place to collect change on the TLU campus over the 14-day period – coinciding with the turn of the conference divisional basketball schedule.
TLU will donate the funds it collects to the Guadalupe Valley Habitat for Humanity.
“I like ‘Make A Change in 14 Days’ because it allows TLU to come together as a school, and we give back to the community,” said Jamie Jahns, the president of TLU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Jahns also serves as vice president of the conference-wide SAAC.
The TLU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has change collection buckets on campus at the Dr. Burton E. Grossman Fitness Center and in the TLU Bookstore.
Members of TLU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee also will be present at the Bulldog basketball doubleheaders on Feb. 4 and Feb. 6 to collect change from fans at the games.
TLU is selling T-shirts to benefit the “Make A Change in 14 Days” effort. All profits from the sale of the T-shirts will go to Guadalupe Valley Habitat for Humanity.
The conference-wide project is also designed as a friendly challenge among the ASC campuses. The member SAAC collecting the most funds and the top-earning division group will be honored by the conference.
The conference is divided into four division groups for the competition. Group one includes Concordia University Texas, Hardin-Simmons University, McMurry University, and University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Group two has Mississippi College, Louisiana College, University of the Ozarks, and University of Texas at Dallas.
Group three contains East Texas Baptist University, LeTourneau University, and University of Texas at Tyler. TLU belongs to group four along with Howard Payne University, Schreiner University, and Sul Ross State University.
Last year, the 15 conference SAAC groups combined to raise $8,761.14 for charity. In three years, nearly $20,000 has been raised to benefit 31 different organizations.
Louisiana College was the top-earning member SAAC for the second consecutive year in 2009 with $2,211.08 going to Cabrini Cancer Center and Rapides Regional Life Center. In two years, LC has collected over $5,000 that has gone directly to breast cancer research.
LC was also part of the winning division group in 2009 along with University of the Ozarks, Mississippi College and University of Texas at Dallas.
McMurry University won the inaugural title in 2007 and made its donation to the Children’s Miracle Network.
“Make a Change in 14 Days has become one of the most visible opportunities for the ASC student-athletes to become involved with their local communities,” ASC Commissioner Amy Carlton said. “We as a conference are proud of the work done by our 15 Student-Athlete Advisory Committees in supporting organizations within their local communities.”
More information about “Make a Change in 14 Days,” including photos of SAACs in action, can be accessed online at www.ASCsports.org/SAAC.
Details for each individual institution can be found on their athletics web¬site.
IN THE BONUS: ASC basketball fans can be on the look out for special conference give-a-ways at their team’s home games during “Make a Change in 14 Days.”