BEREA, OHIO -- The Baldwin-Wallace College football team opened its preseason camp on Wednesday, August 13, 2008. The opening of camp also signalled the completion of John Snell's team's annual Community Service Project. This year's beneficiary is the Cleveland organization of Shoes and Clothes for Kids.
Each summer, Yellow Jacket football student-athletes collect school supplies and other materials for children in need who cannot afford the items. Each young man brings with him to campus a show box filled with items a child in need could utilize in his or her education. In turn, the items are given to representatives from Shoes and Clothes for Kids on the first day of preseason camp. Then, Shoes and Clothes for Kids, located at 4614 Prospect Ave. in Cleveland, distributes the items to children in the Cleveland City School District.
"Shoes and Clothes for Kids is grateful for the very generous donation of more than 150 school supply boxes from Baldwin Wallace football players," said Executive Director Valerie McCormack. "Each player also wrote a personal note encouraging a student to do their best in school. These new school supplies will help ensure that children have the necessary tools to be successful upon returning to school this fall. Shoes and Clothes for Kids mission is to positively impact the lives of area children by giving them the self-esteem and confidence that comes from having brand new shoes, clothing, back packs and other essential school supplies."
The donations were made by each player and their families at an afternoon picnic on the west lawn of the Strosacker Student Union. Co-captains Matt Lepley (Bellevue), John DiMattio (Girard, Pa./ Girard), Karl Schreiber (Bay Village/ Bay) and Joe Kowalski (Macedonia/ Nordonia) helped McCormack and Shoes and Clothes for Kids director of communications Carolyn Sekerak load the donations into her minivan. In fact, there were so many boxes and bags of supplies that McCormack and Sekerak had to make a return trip to campus for the items that they couldn't fit into the van on the first trip.
"I want our student-athletes to know that B-W football is about giving, not getting," said seventh year head coach John Snell, a 1987 B-W graduate who carries a 41-21 career record into the 2008 season. "That's why, every year, we start the season off by giving."
"The football team donation to Shoes and Clothes for Kids is another example of B-W's mission towards developing caring and compassionate graduates and partnering with organizations in the broader community," said B-W Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations Annie Heidersbach, who helped set up the relationship between the football team and the representatives from Shoes & Clothes for Kids. "Coach Snell is not only concerned about developing successful student-athletes, he is intentional about developing his young men into engaged citizens," added Heidersbach.
The football team officially starts practice on Thursday, Aug. 14 and opens its season on Saturday, September 6 with a game against 2008 NCAA Division III National Playoff participant Franklin (Ind.) College in Franklin, Indiana at 1:00 p.m. at Faught Stadium. The Yellow Jacket home and Ohio Athletic Conference opener is on Saturday, Sept. 20 when B-W hosts Cleveland cross-town rival John Carroll University in the Annual Battle for the Cuyahoga Gold Bowl Trophy on Community Night at 6:30 p.m. on Tressel Field in The George Finnie Stadium in Berea. The pregame picnic begins at 4:30 p.m.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact sports information director Kevin Ruple by phone at (440) 826-2327, via fax at (440) 826-2329, or by e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. To contact Head Football Coach John Snell, call him at (440) 826-2069, fax him at (440) 826-2129, or e-mail him at jsnell@bw.edu.
