Columbus State SAAC Work Benefits Ronald McDonald House

Columbus State University Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), has joined forces again with Ronald McDonald House Charities of West Georgia, Inc. Each month the Committee performs a community service project. SAAC President and CSU baseball player Blake Norrell is pleased with the accomplishment of this year’s contribution. “The Ronald McDonald House project is special to us as a committee because we as athletes know that we are giving back to the community and those families that are looking for comfort in their time of need.”

Based on the positive response gained from the athletes and the athletic department last year, the SAAC decided to make this an annual event. The project was to provide goods and items for the local Ronald McDonald House to meet the everyday needs of the visiting families. Beth Mancini, Program Manager, helped the members by providing a list of items needed. “It warms my heart to know that the athletes have taken the time out of their already busy schedules to give back by collecting and donating items. This is just great,” she said. The list included items such as food, pantry and household items, and office supplies, just to name a few.

The SAAC committed to the project, but also challenged all the athletes at CSU to be involved once again. Each team representative chose an item for their teams to donate and went back to their respective teams, presented the project and collected the items. The response was outstanding for the second year in a row. The athletes bought and collected items that totaled $500 worth of goods – an increase of $175 over last year’s donation of goods.

The SAAC will make this event its annual November project with a goal of increasing the amount of goods donated each year to benefit this outstanding charity.