SAAC | 10/28/2015 9:00:00 AM

The efforts of the Shippensburg University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) in the 2014-15 academic year resulted in a donation of $5,298.14 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, allowing SU the opportunity to host a Wish Reveal at a future on-campus event.
 
Shippensburg's SAAC has long been at the forefront of both charitable giving and community interaction. Last year's SAAC group featured the leadership of president Gregg Whitcomb (men's soccer), vice president Ryan Spangler (men's cross country/track & field), secretary Jimmy Spanos (baseball) and treasurer Stefan Szilagyi (men's swimming).
 
This year, Szilagyi is the organization's president. Another steady presence in the organization comes from its advisor of the last several years – assistant director of athletics Ashley Grimm.
 
Among the events SAAC organized to raise donations for Make-A-Wish include the annual "Athletes Got Talent" auction, along with "One Night, One Wish," Goose Bros. Ice Cream fund-raisers and spare change being collected at athletic events.
 
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) finished as the top fund-raising conference in NCAA Division II, totaling $53,493 in donations to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Edinboro finished as the top fund-raising school in the country, raising $13,665. The PSAC is also one of just six Division II conferences with participation from all of its member schools.
 
The grand total of the donations made from NCAA Division II schools to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, from the 2014-15 academic year, is $605,248. Since the beginning of the partnership 12 years ago, Division II has donated more than $4.1 million to Make-A-Wish, resulting in more than 530 wishes being granted throughout the country.