LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. — Siena College’s Athletic Department has always tried to be actively involved in the Capital Region community. Siena’s student-athletes and coaches make numerous appearances in local classrooms and hospitals and volunteer hundreds of hours to help in area organizations.
In addition, according to Siena’s Web site, the athletic department has donated thousands of dollars in game tickets, sports camps scholarships and sporting apparel and memorabilia to local charities. From soup kitchens to elementary schools, Siena invests its special resources each year to enrich the Capital Region community.
Organizations that believe they could benefit from a relationship with Siena Athletics are encouraged to contact the Saints in the Community program. To coordinate athlete or coaching visits, contact Camelia Trahan at ctrahan@siena.edu or 518-782-6769. Donation request forms are available through the official Siena Web site.
One of the community initiatives intended to motivate area elementary students through interaction with Siena’s student-athletes is the newly-redesigned Fidelis Care Adopt-A-School program. Members of Siena’s athletic teams interact with designated schools throughout the year. In addition to providing guidance and leadership to area youths, Siena’s student athletes learn firsthand the value of volunteering in the community. The elementary students can find that learning is fun as teachers incorporate Siena Athletics into class lesson plans (i.e. using statistics for math assignments, or writing to the players for English). Fidelis Care is a Catholic health plan of New York state.
Siena’s student-athletes correspond throughout the year and ultimately visit the school. Each school is presented with an Adopt-A-School poster, identifying it as a current participant in the program. Additionally, Siena publications and prizes are provided for the school to give out to students who are deemed outstanding performers. Each school receives 50 tickets to a men’s and women’s basketball game, and the entire school is invited to come to campus for a day in the fall and spring to watch other Siena student-athletes in action.
Siena’s current adopted schools are Albany Public School #18, St. Gregory’s School for Boys, Schenectady Middle School, and Loudonville Elementary.