ATHLETICS<strong>Lehigh</strong> in the CommunityCommunity Outreach by Athletes who Care about Helping(C.O.A.C.H.) is a service program that operates in accordancewith the National Consortium for Academics and Sports tohelp (along with parents, teachers and coaches) elementary,middle and high school student-athletes and their peers, makeinformed choices regarding their education, drug and alcoholissues and other factors which may affect reaching their fullpotential. The participating <strong>Lehigh</strong> student-athletes talk aboutsubstance abuse, time management, academic motivation andother concerns of younger students and student-athletes. Thisprogram offers <strong>Lehigh</strong> student-athletes as “C.O.A.C.H.”es forelementary, middle and high school students.The vision for the program is to involve as many <strong>Lehigh</strong>athletes as possible in meaningful community service experiencesthat reach as many young people as possible. The intentof the program is to inspire both the youth of our communityand the <strong>Lehigh</strong> student-athletes to set high goals, to serveothers less fortunate than ourselves, and to believe in thepower of clear values, healthy and smart decision-making,mentoring, and dreams.The <strong>Lehigh</strong> <strong>Athletics</strong> C.O.A.C.H program had someinspiring outcomes in the <strong>2006</strong>-20<strong>07</strong> school year as theyestablished new records across the board. The group combinedfor over 500 hours of community service in the <strong>Lehigh</strong>Valley which included visiting local schools to promoteresponsibility, education, leadership, passion and inspiration.The program had 145 student-athlete participants and almost5,000 children’s lives were touched by the program. Thestudent-athletes raised over $50,000 through various charitableactivities including Adopt-A-Family, Fall Breakfast for a Buckfor Muscular Dystrophy, Spring Breakfast for a Buck for St.Jude Children’s Hospital and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma,and Breast Cancer.“The thing about the C.O.A.C.H. program is that we’rethe ones helping out with these great causes, but we get somuch joy out of helping young children and throughout thecommunity,” explained Courtney Elder ‘<strong>07</strong>, one of twoC.O.A.C.H. program chairs. “You see the looks on thepeople’s faces and it makes you feel really good about whatyou’re doing.”This award-winning, student run program organizedthe bi-annual Breakfast for a Buck events. Over 700students and members of the <strong>Lehigh</strong> community packedRathbone Dining Hall on Wednesday, October 25, forthe fall <strong>2006</strong> “Breakfast” event, which was sponsored byseveral campus groups including Residential Services andthe C.O.A.C.H. program.Every semester the program chooses a different causeto raise money for. Proceeds from this particular eventwent to the fight against muscular dystrophy. For a dollar,<strong>Lehigh</strong> students, student-athletes and staff were able toenjoy breakfast at night and were provided an opportunityto spend time with friends and relax. Many studentathletessaw the event as a pleasant diversion during aweek filled with rigorous four o’clock exams. In all, over athousand dollars was raised on the evening.The spring 20<strong>07</strong> Breakfast for a Buck event was trulyspecial. The event was held on April 11th and raisedmoney for St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Non-Hodgkin’sLymphoma in support of the family of a former <strong>Lehigh</strong>student-athlete and C.O.A.C.H. participant. Over 1,000 peopleattended the spring late night breakfast and contributed to thealmost $20,000 raised, Breakfast for a Buck’s largest amountever.“I feel our student athletes with the support of the <strong>Lehigh</strong>community worked very hard to make Breakfast for a Buckanother successful event,” Roseann Corsi, <strong>Lehigh</strong>’s PublicRelations Coordinator said. “By working together, the rewardwas knowing that we have helped a great cause.”<strong>Lehigh</strong> student-athletes also took the opportunity to giveback to the community by hosting the C.O.A.C.H. program’sannual Adopt-A-Family event. For this program, each athleticteam at <strong>Lehigh</strong> adopted an underprivileged family from theBethlehem community. Each family had a holiday wish listwhich our student-athletes made come true. The teams raisedmoney throughout the fall semester in order to purchase giftsfor their family. Many of the wish lists included necessitiessuch as beds, toiletries, clothes and money for food. Inaddition to these essentials the student-athletes were able tomake holiday wishes come true by purchasing gifts such astelevisions, bicycles, and toys for their families.A reception was held so that the teams could meet theirfamilies, present them with their gifts, and share in a trulymagical evening. Food and drinks were provided to make theevening special for all parties involved and Santa Claus wason hand to spread holiday cheer, along with Jolly Holly theClown and <strong>Lehigh</strong>’s own mascot the Mountain Hawk. Theevent took on a Christmas Eve-type atmosphere when the childrenwere allowed to open a few special gifts with their team.“We spend so much time training throughout the year, thatsometimes we lose sight of the important things,” said ColinMistele ‘<strong>07</strong>, a member of the men’s lacrosse team. “The holidaysare an important time for so many people, that if we canput the time and effort in with our teammates, we can make a
ATHLETICSlot of people’s holidays better. It really means a lot to all of usto be able to help out in anyway we can.”The Adopt-A-Family program is now in its ninth year. Byparticipating in community outreach programs, like Adopt-A-Family, many <strong>Lehigh</strong> student-athletes are doing their best tomake a difference in the community around them.In all, the group accounted for over 500 hours of communityservice in the <strong>Lehigh</strong> Valley, coordinated over 22 events, andis responsible for thousands of smiles on the faces of the specialpeople of our community. For their efforts the C.O.A.C.H.Program has received the National Consortium for Academicsand Sports award for its outstanding outreach and communityservice for five consecutive years.<strong>Lehigh</strong> in the CommunityNumber of C.O.A.C.H. representatives 56Number of active participants 145Number of C.O.A.C.H. events 22Number of C.O.A.C.H. charities 4C.O.A.C.H. hours ofcommunity service 496Number of children touchedby C.O.A.C.H. 4,994Amount raised by C.O.A.C.H. $50,255.80Amount raised for Adopt-a-Family $26,589.80Amount raised byBreakfast for a Buck $21,884.00Amount raised for Breast Cancer $1,782.00C.O.A.C.H.
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