Dec. 7, 2005

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh student-athletes took the opportunity to give back to the community Tuesday evening as Lehigh's award-winning C.O.A.C.H. (Community Outreach by Athletes who Care about Helping) program directed its annual Adopt-A-Family event. For this program, each athletic team at Lehigh adopted an underprivileged family to help share in the holiday season.

Over the course of the semester, the student-athletes from each team raised money in order to buy gifts for their families. Tuesday night, each team made their presentation to their adopted family.

The teams met with their families, as children were allowed to open some presents on the spot. Santa Claus was on hand to spread holiday cheer and food and drinks were provided to make the evening special for all parties involved.

"Everyone's spirits tend to lift up," said sophomore Melissa Montalvo from the women's soccer team. "We put in a lot of work raising money, shopping and wrapping presents for the families. To see a kid smile is a great feeling and to see the reactions of the families is what this is all about."

Junior Andrew Smith is a co-chair of the C.O.A.C.H. program and a member of the baseball team. He sees the Adopt-A-Family event as an extremely rewarding experience. "It is definitely nice to see how much what we do means to these families," Smith said. "It helps all the student-athletes at Lehigh feel connected to the community."

The Adopt-A-Family program is now in its seventh year. This year Lehigh student-athletes raised over 25 thousand dollars to be spent on gifts for all the families.

"It's really great to see how the families appreciate everything," says junior Stefanie Forlenza from the softball team. "It brings joy to the families for the holiday season and its real fulfilling for the student-athletes."

By participating in community outreach programs many Lehigh student-athletes are doing their best to make a difference in the community around them.