RELEASED:  Tuesday, May 22, 2007

WIAC Student-Athletes Collect Record Number of Food Items

Madison, Wis.--For the past six years, student-athletes from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) have teamed up with Ministry Health Care to ‘Help Feed the Hungry”; a campus-by-campus food drive aimed to help those in need. Each institution distributes collected food items to a food pantry located in its community.
 
Once again this partnership has produced record results.  By collecting food items during athletic events, soliciting donations door-to-door on campus, and even tying the drive into holidays such as Halloween, the nine member institutions of the WIAC set out to top last year’s totals.  That mission was accomplished, and then some, as the 2006-2007 donation total reached an all-time high of 11,577 items; nearly double the 6,386 items collected during the 2005-2006 drive. 

Two schools were able to eclipse the 2000 plateau in donations:  UW-Oshkosh (2000) and UW-Stout (2441).  Eight of the nine boasted increased turnout from last year:  UW-Eau Claire (+400), UW-La Crosse (+687), UW-Oshkosh (+800), UW-Platteville (+700), UW-River Falls (+241), UW-Stevens Point (+397), UW-Stout (+1403), UW-Whitewater (+629).

Often referred to as the “Conference of Champions”, the WIAC and its student-athletes are eager to prove that they do all it takes to earn that moniker both on and off the fields of competition.  The “Help Feed the Hungry” campaign is just one of the ways they are doing just that. In addition, the WIAC Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) sponsors an annual community/campus project week during which the student-athletes on each campus are expected to plan a variety of projects to benefit their campuses and/or local community areas.  

Ministry Health Care, a major corporate partner of the WIAC, is a values-driven health care delivery network of aligned hospitals, clinics and other providers, based in Wisconsin and Minnesota.  With over 12,000 employees including physicians and health professionals, Ministry also offers home health, hospice, long-term care facilities, dialysis services, a health plan and many other services.