Takedown Report

TAR HEELS TEAM UP TO MAKE THE HOLIDAYS BRIGHTER

Posted: December 23, 2019
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
For more than 20 years, Orange County Social Services (OCSS) has been helping families in need with holiday assistance, bringing joy into their lives this time of year. Carolina Athletics plays a role in that, partnering with OCSS for the annual Share Your Holiday program, the longest-running Christmastime project in which UNC student-athletes participate. Each year, student-athletes gather donations from teammates, coaches and staff, then buy gifts for the children and adults their teams sponsor. This year, Tar Heel teams raised enough money to sponsor 28 individuals. And on Dec. 12, 24 student-athletes representing a variety of team traveled to the OCSS Center in Hillsborough to deliver the presents they purchased. “It’s definitely fun because every year you get a new kid, so you usually get to shop for different things,” said Mia Fradenburg, a senior on the volleyball team. “But I think the time of year is good, too. With final exams, this is just a mini break from that. “It makes you really grateful for everything you do have. And I think this is a really good time for all the sports to come together and do something as a whole.” All 28 varsity teams participate in some sort of holiday gift donation project, most in Share Your Holiday. For the second time, the men’s basketball team partnered with the Me Fine Foundation, a nonprofit that attempts to ease the financial burdens on the caregivers of children who are dealing with a medical crisis. Meanwhile, the football team created packages that will go to needy kids through Operation Christmas Child. Additionally, Department of Athletics staff members donated toys at the department’s holiday luncheon, filling six large bins with games, dolls and other fun items for the OCSS Toy Chest.
With the Share Your Holiday program, each team has a point person who collects donations and plans the shopping date. James Courtney, who held that role for the men’s swimming and diving team, said he and Brooke Bauer, the point person for the women’s swimming and diving team, hoped to raise a combined $400. Ultimately, they surpassed that. Rest of the story at https://goheels.com/news/2019/12/23/student-athlete-development-goheels-exclusive-tar-heels-team-up-to-make-the-holidays-brighter.aspx

GOHEELS EXCLUSIVE: BACK ON THE MAT
When Austin O’Connor pulled onto the rainy campus of Cleveland State University last Saturday morning, it didn’t take long for others on hand to take notice. “There’s that O’Connor kid,” a fellow competitor said just seconds after he walked into Woodling Gymnasium in downtown Cleveland. O’Connor would be competing in a 30-man bracket at the tournament, his first competition of the 2019-20 season. With a grocery bag full of trail mix granola bars and sports drinks in hand, O’Connor kept moving with his headphones over his UNC knit cap and headed into the gym – unfazed, almost like he didn’t even hear it. Rest of the story at https://goheels.com/news/2019/12/20/wrestling-goheels-exclusive-back-on-the-mat.aspx

December 24, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized