RECAP: Edinboro athletics hosts Make-a-Wish reveal, helps PSAC with successful fundraising in 2020

Make-a-Wish is a nonprofit organization that grants wishes for children with critical illnesses. This can mean meeting someone they idolize or going on a trip to Disney. In February 2019, this meant that Edinboro provided a trip to Hawaii for 16-year-old Kendall Peterson, of West Middlesex, Pennsylvania. Then, in February 2020, during halftime at a men’s basketball game, EU granted a wish for Tristan Shardy, an 8-year-old with a nervous system disorder. The Fighting Scots provided him with a trip to a beach resort in the Florida Keys.

The EU Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and student athletes were the ones to lead this fundraising. 

According to GoFightingScots.com: “Division II SAAC continues to use an allocation model that was adopted five years ago, which allows money from Division II championships and enforcement fines to supplement institutional fundraising to help schools host a wish reveal celebration on their campus. During the 2019-20 year, three schools raised at least $10,000, which is the average cost of granting a wish. Those three schools automatically earned a wish reveal celebration. Five other schools earned wish reveals through the supplemental funds based on the allocation model."

Over the years, Edinboro athletics has raised over $88,000 for Make-a-Wish.

The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference was the top fundraising Division II conference for Make-a-Wish, for the sixth year in a row, with a total of $35,294.

Emma McNeeley is the News Editor for The Spectator. She can be reached at edinboro.spectator@gmail.com.