Villanova University Official Athletic Site

IN THE COMMUNITY

September 11, 2010: St. Thomas of Villanova, Day of Service

St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service is a celebration of the legacy of Villanova's patron saint, St. Thomas of Villanova, and his tireless works of charity for the poor and marginalized. This year, the annual Day of Service was held on September 11, 2010. In conjunction with the entire Villanova University Community, Villanova Athletic teams went out into the surrounding communities to participate in an annual day of service. Over 4,500 Villanova University Faculty, Staff and Students participated in the event. The Villanova Athletic Department had over 400 volunteers, including staff, coaches and student-athletes.
Teams that participated in the Day of Service:

On Friday, the Women's Cross Country team participated in the 4-6 pm lunch-making shift
At 7AM on Saturday Morning, the Men's Lacrosse and Men's Soccer teams were at the Pavilion to help with the Day of Service set-up
Women's Basketball went into Wayne, PA to Our Lady of Assumption Church to help with a clean-up
Water Polo went to Darby, PA to A Mother's Home, a shelter to paint their office space
Women's Lacrosse went to Sacred Heart School & Parish in South Philadelphia to paint, garden and weed
Men's and Women's Swim went to Camden, NJ for a street clean-up; 27th to 36th streets
The Cheerleading Team went to a local shelter
The Softball Team helped with Van return on campus
The Rowing Team went to St. Martin of Tours in Philadelphia to paint
Men's Tennis went to Holy Redeemer Chinese Parish on Vine St. in Philadelphia to outside gardening work
Men's Basketball went to PhilAbundance Food Warehouse in Philadelphia
The Field Hockey Team went to the Baptist Children's Services
Men's and Women's Track and Field went to the Bache Martin Parish & School to paint
The Baseball Team cleaned up Plymouth Park (area surrounding baseball field in Plymouth Meeting, PA)

November 5, 2010: Special Olympics Fall Festival, Villanova University

Each year, Villanova University hosts the Pennsylvania Special Olympics Fall Festival Weekend, an event spanning three days that welcomes 1,000 Special Olympics Athletics, 400 coaches and 4,000 volunteers to campus to participate in competitions in the fields of: bocce, long distance running/walking, power lifting, roller skating, soccer, and volleyball. The Fall Festival at Villanova is the largest student-run Special Olympics in the world. Villanova Athletics takes great pride in participating in the elaborate Opening Ceremony that takes place each year on Friday Night in the Pavilion on campus.
This past year, Villanova Athletics had over 100 student-athletes walk in the Opening Ceremony procession, alongside over 1,000 Special Olympics Athletes.
Participating Teams included:

Baseball
Golf
Men's Basketball
Men's Swimming & Diving
Men's Track/Field/Cross Country
Women's Basketball
Women's Lacrosse
Women's Rowing
Women's Swimming & Diving
Women's Track/Field/Cross Country

December 20, 2010: North Light Community Center Holiday Party

Each year Villanova University hosts a Christmas Party for the children of the North Light Community Center in Manayunk, PA. This event makes it possible for almost 100 children to receive Christmas presents that may not be possible without the generosity of Villanova University Staff, Faculty and Students. Each year, children from the North Light Community Center are "adopted" by members of the Villanova community and are presented with individual gifts at a Holiday Party hosted on campus. The 2010 party was hosted in the Pavilion on Monday, December 20, 2010. Both the Men's and Women's Basketball teams were on hand to help with arts and crafts and to assist Santa with the distribution of gifts.
The Villanova Athletics SAAC committee also participated in the planning of the North Light Community Holiday Party, by hosting two toy drives; the first, on December 2nd at a home Women's Basketball Game, and the second on December 11th, at a home Men's Basketball Game. SAAC representatives were on hand to collect toy donations!
As a SAAC initiative, individual Villanova Athletics Teams also collected $5.00 from each student-athlete to use as donations to cover the costs of the food and arts & crafts at the holiday part.

January 30, 2011: 'each one counts' table tennis tournament

The Villanova Athletics Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) sponsored a table tennis tournament to benefit the 'each one counts' Foundation. This was the inaugural year of the table tennis tournament and over 300 student-athletes participated.
The event was planned as an all-day tournament event and each team signed up had a specific time to attend! 23 Villanova Varsity Athletics teams participated and donated $5.00 each. The winner of each team competed head to head against other teams in a March Madness style tournament
The Villanova SAAC group was one of three teams participating in this event. Fordham University and Fairfield University each held their own table tennis tournament in support of the 'each one counts' Foundation.
The 'each one counts' Foundation was created by Brian Harrington, a former Villanova Men's Basketball player. The sole purpose of the foundation is to ease the physical pain and suffering of chronically ill children. The foundation provides funding for complimentary pain management therapies, such as: massage, hydro, art, music, pet, yoga, etc.
Over $1,100 was raised for the 'each one counts' Foundation by the Villanova University student-athletes!!

February 4, 2011: McDaniel School Visit to Villanova University

This program was co-sponsored by the Villanova College of Nursing, the Villanova Student-Nurses Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP), and Villanova Athletics
On Friday, February 4, 2011, a 6th grade classroom from the McDaniel School in Philadelphia came to Villanova's campus to spend a morning with our Villanova student nurses and student-athletes. The idea behind this program was really to inspire the 6th graders to stay in school, have goals, and learn through education. Each year, Dr. Carol Weingarten, a Villanova Nursing Associate Professor, has a health promotion clinical rotation in the McDaniel School. Dr. Weingarten was the key supporter of the day!
The 6th grade classroom, their teachers and parents, split their time between touring the Villanova Athletics Facilities and Villanova Nursing's Simulation Labs.
The most exciting parts of the day for the McDaniel School children were meeting Corey Fisher and Antonio Pena, of the Villanova Men's Basketball Team while touring the Pavilion at Villanova, and sitting down for lunch with eleven members of the 2010-2011 Villanova Football Team!

February 2011: Villanova Women's Lacrosse visit's Walter Reed Army Medical Center

In February of 2011, while traveling down south to the South of the Border Pre-Season Tournament in North Carolina, the Villanova Women's Lacrosse Team had the opportunity to visit the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The entire spent time visiting some of the soldiers currently recovering from injuries caused in battle.

April 14, 2011: Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation, Bone Marrow Drive

Head Villanova Football Coach Andy Talley tested over 600 people on Villanova's campus to add to the national bone marrow registry.
In coordination with Coach Talley and the Villanova Student Nurses Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP), all members of the Villanova Football Team took part in organizing the testing day, signing up their fellow students, staff and faculty to get tested, and the actual procedure for testing.
In the past two years, Coach Talley and the Football Team have tested over 1,300 people on Villanova's campus in an effort to raise awareness for the National Bone Marrow Be the Match Program.

Weekly Community Service Trip: St. Barnabas Women's Shelter in Philadelphia

Every Thursday Night, since the middle of the fall 2010 semester, Villanova Athletics has sent between 4-7 student-athletes on a weekly community service opportunity to St. Barnabas Women's Shelter in Philadelphia. This opportunity is a partnership between Villanova's Campus Ministry Office and its Community Outreach of Villanova (COV) Program and Villanova Athletics. The group leaves Villanova each Thursday night at 6:00pm for St. Barnabas.
This opportunity was driven by our student-athletes in the Student-athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). They asked to have a weekly community service project, open to any student-athlete each week.
To date: student-athletes from the following teams have participated:

Golf
Football
Softball
Volleyball
Women's Lacrosse
Women's Soccer