(Peru, Neb.) – Peru State's Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) was formed seven years ago by the College's athletic director, Steve Schneider. As the group was formed, part of the discussion was how the student-athletes could not only help improve and develop their athletic programs, but how they could help the community.
 
For the seventh year in a row, SAAC has decided one of their community service projects includes participating in the 25th annual Make A Difference Day.  Considered the nation's largest day of service, Make A Difference Day is the most encompassing national day of helping others - a celebration of people helping people. It was created by USA WEEKEND Magazine and is an annual event that takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October.  The Points of Light and USA WEEKEND Magazine have collaborated on the event for over 20 years with the focus of providing dedicated community service.

 
As in the past, SAAC is coordinating its efforts with a football game which this year will be Peru State's Homecoming game on Halloween, Oct. 31. The group will be working on its project during the entire week of Homecoming.

Junior Marisa Pribnow (Lincoln), SAAC's communications officer/secretary and a Bobcat golfer, stated, "Similar to previous years, SAAC will organize a competition among the athletic teams, their families and friends to donate cold season items such as cough drops, tooth brushes, mittens, hats, cleaning supplies (disinfectant sprays and wipes), and cold/flu medicine."

Pribnow, whose golf teammates will help coordinate the event, added, "Boxes will be set in the Student Center starting the week of the 26th for students and staff to start dropping off items into their team's box. After each day, a member of SAAC will tally the points so students can see which team leads after each day's donations are tallied."

The competition is based on a scoring system devised for the various products donated to each team. Each team's final score is based on a per capita basis determined by the number of members on each team.

The Bobcat softball team has won the competition five times while the cheerleaders won one year.
 

Sophomore baseball player, Chaz Dunn (Falls City), this year's SAAC president, noted, "As part of the NAIA's Champions of Character program, athletic teams have a responsibility to conduct various servant leadership activities.  We (SAAC) believe the Make A Difference Day project allows not only student-athletes, but our coaches, parents, and fans to participate in this worthwhile endeavor."
 
Dunn continued, "Millions of people across the country participate in related projects, generally on the fourth Saturday of October, but we wanted to capitalize on Homecoming week with the hope of generating more interest.  Hopefully, a large crowd on Saturday will help us top what we have donated in previous years."

Junior Ryan Zuhlke (Sterling), SAAC's current vice president and a Bobcat football player stated, "The point system is as follows: One (1) point: cough drops, chap stick, tooth brushes; five (5) points: gloves, hats, hand-sanitizer, disinfectant sprays and wipes; ten (10) points: scarves and cold/flu medicine. In addition, money donations will be accepted and will go toward each respective team's points."

"We are pleased to continue to support Project Response which serves the five counties in southeast Nebraska – Nemaha, Richardson, Otoe, Pawnee, and Johnson.   Project Response is a domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy agency serving the five-county area in southeastern Nebraska," concluded Zuhlke.
 
Peru State athletic director Steve Schneider is pleased that SAAC is continuing its community service efforts in conjunction with the Make A Difference Day event.  Schneider noted, "Our student-athletes take seriously the importance of servant leadership, one of the NAIA's five core values in the Champions of Character program.  Their contributions to Project Response help many women and children in southeast Nebraska."
 
For more information regarding the event, feel free to contact the Sports Information Office at 402-872-2380 or Ted Harshbarger at tharshbarger@peru.edu.