SLIAC SAAC Readies For Fundraisers
The annual St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) Challenge hits full steam over the next two weeks with campus SAAC groups holding various fundraisers during basketball games. The SLIAC is a partner with Coaches vs. Cancer and member schools will join in the nation-wide event next week. The annual fundraising event for the SLIAC will continue the following week as well, giving all member schools a chance to host a basketball game during the two-week long event. All proceeds raised by the SLIAC school members go directly to The Hope Lodge, a facility that assists patients and family members fighting cancer by providing lodging during their treatment. This is the 5th consecutive year that the SLIAC has put together a league-wide fundraising initiative with the American Cancer Society.
Blackburn College will be raising awareness in the fight against cancer with their event on Wednesday, January 29th when they host Fontbonne University. Blackburn will be selling ribbons in which people can write the name of someone they know that has been affected by cancer and then displaying those ribbons on the gym arena wall.
Iowa Wesleyan University will hold its fundraising event on January 29th when they host Westminster College. Iowa Wesleyan will donate all admission collected for both the men's and women's basketball games as well as holding a pledge for three-pointers made.
On Wednesday, January 22nd MacMurray College will be raising money during their doubleheader against Westminster College. MacMurray will be collecting money during both the men's and women's basketball games that night. They will also collect money during halftime of both games with donors competing in a half-court shot contest with winners receiving a prize.
Webster University will be collecting donations at the door for their doubleheader against Greenville University on Saturday, January 29th. There is a suggested donation of $1 at the door and they will also display a Wall of Hope to honor and remember those affected by cancer while raising awareness.
Westminster College will be rocking sneakers during their January 25th basketball games against Greenville University as part of the Suits and Sneakers fundraiser. Coaches and their staff across the nation wear sneakers with their suits during games to raise awareness, helping to save lives by raising funds and encouraging people to educate themselves about cancer prevention, screening, and early detection. You can make a donation HERE
In addition, Fontbonne University will be hosting a 'Week of Jan' next week, raising money for a cause close to their campus; Jan Thompson. Jan, the partner of Fontbonne University Associate Athletic Director Danielle Doerfler, has battled Cystic Fibrosis and is currently on the United Network for Organ Sharing organ donation waitlist for a second double lung transplant. On Tuesday the Fontbonne softball team will host a bake sale and the dance team will host a t-shirt sale in Ryan Hall from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. That evening there will be a half-court shootout with just $1 entry fee during the Griffins games against visiting Principia College. On Thursday, Fontbonne will host a movie night, showing '5 Feet Apart', a recent film about those dealing with cystic fibrosis. Their week of events continues on Friday with their annual trivia night and will conclude on Saturday when they host MacMurray College in a basketball doubleheader with a knockout game during halftime. For full details click HERE
Coaches vs. Cancer, founded in 1993, is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The upcoming Coaches vs. Cancer - Suits and Sneakers campaign encourages coaches and their staff to wear sneakers with their suits during games to raise awareness of the fight against cancer and demonstrate their support for the American Cancer Society and its mission to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. The initiative aims to increase cancer awareness, highlights the importance of nutrition and physical activity in reducing a person's cancer risk, and promotes the American Cancer Society's free programs and services available to those facing cancer. Since 1993, coaches have raised more than $100 million for the American Cancer Society and the fight against cancer.
The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division III athletic conference and was chartered in 1989 and includes 10 private institutions across four states. Members include Blackburn College, Eureka College, Fontbonne University, Greenville College, Iowa Wesleyan University, MacMurray College, Principia College, Spalding University, Webster University, and Westminster College.
For more information and to join coaches and the SLIAC in the fight against cancer, visit coachesvscancer.org/suitsandsneakers.
