D'YOUVILLE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL GIVES BACK THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY

Throughout the month of February, the D’Youville College women’s basketball team participated in several community service projects that helped raise money, bring awareness, or assist people in need.

D’Youville began the month by participating in Penn State-Altoona’s Gold Game. The Spartans wore gold laces in support of pediatric/childhood cancer awareness, also donating money for the cause.

As part of their second community service project of the month, the women volunteered at Friends of the Night People. This is a charitable organization that helps the poor, home, and destitute in Buffalo, NY. The organization provides food, medical care, clothing, and counseling to those who need it. Providing all of those necessities is part of the organization’s mission.

Ten players for the Spartans volunteered their time to Friends of the Night People, including Kelsey Carpenter, Sara Field, Darian Evans, Jordan Smith, CeDrice Howard, Marina Campbell, Callie Rapant, Kailey Kellner, Briana Dotterweich, and Emmalea Erlandson.

In their final home game of the season, the D’Youville women’s basketball team put on their annual Play4Kay game in an effort to raise funds for the Kay Yow Foundation. The team was able to raise funds for the foundation through the Play4Kay Free Throw Challenge where people could donate money for every free throw made by the team in the month of February.

Kay Yow was the former North Carolina State University head women's basketball coach who battled breast cancer three times between 1987 and 2009. Yow was the head coach at NC State from 1975-2009 and is one of six Division I head women's coaches to reach 700 wins. In 2009, Yow sadly lost her third battle with the disease.

The goal of the fund is to raise money for research to find a cure for all cancers. The organization has been driven by Yow's hope to fund cutting-edge research still that lives on after her passing. Since the Fund's creation, millions have been raised for cancer research.

Each year, it is estimated that over 230,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer and 2,350 men are as well.