The Roanoke College men's lacrosse team today visited the Ronald McDonald House to present $1,500 the team raised to assist the home away from home for families with children being treated in area hospitals. The team also conducted a food drive, and delivered food and paper products to the house.
"This was a collaborative effort from our alumni and our student athletes," Men's Lacrosse Coach Bill Pilat '85 said.
The donations to Ronald McDonald House Charities Southwest Virginia came from a September men's lacrosse alumni weekend designed to bring alumni back to campus to meet the current student-athletes. The alumni and current players wanted to support a local charity and selected the Ronald McDonald House.
The Ronald McDonald House provides a comfortable and supportive home away from home for the families of sick and injured children who must come to the Roanoke, Virginia, area for medical treatment, and the Ronald McDonald Family Room at the Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, a respite area for parents to rest and regroup, steps away from their child's bedside.
Austin Gambino '22 organized the food drive, along with Griffin Buck '22. The entire team donated to the food drive and helped spread the word to others about the effort.
"I talked with one of our alumni, Rocco Guglielmo '85, and told him how our team wants to get involved locally," Gambino said. "He mentioned the Ronald McDonald House here in Roanoke. As a team, we decided to support them with a food drive, as Thanksgiving is coming up. We are happy we could do what we did to help. They do so much for everyone else in the community, and we want to help them out."
"The Ronald McDonald House is extremely excited with the support being given with this annual tournament," said Stephanie Carroll, director of special events/community development at Ronald McDonald House Charities Southwest Virginia. "Now more than ever it is such a blessing. Having the families be able to stay with their child makes a huge difference in the recovery. Families need the comfort of home to relieve as much stress as possible. The men's lacrosse team is making a wonderful difference in making that possible."
***Release courtesy of Roanoke College News
