Dec. 8, 2003

Bethlehem, PA - Lehigh student athletes pride themselves on their performance on the field and in the classroom. And with the C.O.A.C.H. program (Community Outreach by Athletes who Care about Helping), some Mountain Hawk students are getting the chance to make a difference in the community as well. By participating in many community outreach programs and volunteer work, these students are doing their best to make a difference in the community around them

Friday night, the C.O.A.C.H. program directed their annual holiday project, the Adopt-A-Family program. 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, student-athletes from each team raised money in order to buy gifts for their families. On Friday, each team made their presentation to their families.

The teams gathered with their families, gave the kids a chance to visit with Santa Claus, and then allowed the children to open a present apiece on the spot. They also provided food and drinks to make the entire evening special for all of the families involved. The recipients were greatful, and both families and students were reduced to tears over the joy and happiness being spread.

Jessica DePalo, a junior on the women's basketball team, is their representative to C.O.A.C.H. She enjoys what the program has to offer: "It gives us a chance to give back to those who are less fortunate," she says, " and it makes us more a part of the community we live in." The women's basketball team's family lost their house in a fire, and the team raised over $2,000 dollars to help them out. "I love this time of year, and I like being able to help others get a chance to enjoy it as well."

Dave Crockett, the president of the student-athlete council and a member of C.O.A.C.H., represented the football team for their presentation. "Our family has six kids," said Crockett, "So it was nice to be able to help such a large family at this time of year. We were able to put together a lot of stuff to help them through the holiday season."

Khayla Lowe, a member of the Women's Track team, says being involved in C.O.A.C.H. is very personal for her. "Some people join organizations just to put filler on their resumes," she said. "But I have been brought up knowing that it's important to try to help out those who are less fortunate than ourselves, and C.O.A.C.H. gives the students here a chance to do just that."