D'YOUVILLE MEN'S BASKETBALL GIVES TO FAMILIES IN NEED FOR THANKSGIVING

The D'Youville College men's basketball team gave back to the community over the weekend, putting together meals for five families in need for Thanksgiving later this week.

The team of 15 players, along with Head Coach Earl Schunk, teamed with the annual Thanksgiving food drive run by D'Youville Campus Ministry and they will be distributing the food as a larger part of the project.

"It was great to see the players' eagerness to help serve the community where they go to school and live for nine months a year," said Coach Schunk. "It was also interesting to see the variation in what the groups got, even though they had the same list," Schunk continued.

The Spartans were given a shopping list and divided into three groups after their practice on Sunday. All of the Spartans then went to Tops Markets on Niagara Street to purchase their groceries. The men took money out of their fundraising budget in order to purchase the meals.

Coach Schunk and his team are not only a team, but a family, and his players share that same sentiment. "This is a really close knit team, and we all agreed that this is something we ought to do," said senior captain Nate Sweetman. "We are glad to be of service in any way we can."
"All of us have been fortunate enough to attend a good school and have things that many in the area around our school do not have," added fellow senior captain Jon Gemerek. "It is only right that we help out any way we can."

Schunk reiterated what his players said, saying "we are dedicated to serving our community as 
individuals, as a team, as an athletic department and as a school."