Dec. 13, 2006
Women's Basketball Community Service Photo Gallery
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Embodying the spirit of the holiday season, the UCF women's basketball team has been giving back to the Central Florida community this week through two deserving volunteer projects.
On Monday, the Golden Knights joined the U.S. Marines to spend nearly three hours at Toys for Tots unloading toys and sorting them into the appropriate age groups.
"It was something that we did last year and we really wanted to do again," said junior guard Amber Long (Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork HS). "About a month ago, we started asking the coaches what charity events we might be able to participate in. The Marines were great guys and we really enjoy working with them."
Although they were there to work, the Golden Knights also took the chance to play with some of the donations.
"One of the Marines we had worked with the previous year was there again. We started throwing around one of those soft footballs with him when we arrived," said Long. "They also have this huge mountain of stuffed animals that Jackie [Akers], Randall [Hurst] and I were jumping into."
The team also found the opportunity to give more of its time through the Seminole Community Volunteer Program. On Thursday afternoon, the Golden Knights will be decorating Harvest Time International warehouse for a Christmas party and sorting food for distribution as part of the Seminole United Christmas Village for Kids/Bag of Joy program. Invitations for the party were sent to 1700 underprivileged and at-risk children and their families and attendance is expected to reach around 3,000.
"We love to be able to send our players into the community to interact with the people of Central Florida. They get the chance to see how lucky they really are to have what they do," said UCF head coach Gail Striegler.
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