Princeton University athletes to ‘adopt’ needy area families

Forty-five teams and about 1,000 students are participating

By: Daivd Campbell
   Athletes in Action, a Christian organization on the Princeton University campus, is spreading some holiday gift-giving cheer among the area’s needy families this year.
   This is the sixth year of the nonprofit group’s Teams and Toys holiday service project.
   In this annual effort, Athletes in Action helps varsity and club teams at the university adopt needy families in the Princeton region for the holiday season.
   The organization provides organizational and administrative support, while each of the participating sports teams adopts one or more of the families and pools its money for gifts — toys, blankets and other essentials.
   The project culminates with a festive gift-wrapping party — this year scheduled for Dec. 8 at the Frist Campus Center on the Princeton campus.
   Athletes in Action provides the wrapping supplies, food and music — all the student athletes need bring are their gifts and good cheer.
   Last year, all 38 varsity teams, along with several club teams and university departments, participated in the Teams and Toys initiative.
   With more than 1,100 students participating, it was one of the largest single-event service projects at Princeton, the group said.
   This year, about 45 teams, both varsity and club, are taking part in the gift-giving initiative.
   About 1,000 students are participating, and sign-ups are still under way, said Princeton junior Carolyn Murphy, a community-service coordinator with the nonprofit group.
   Gifts are being provided for about 100 to 120 needy Princeton-area youngsters, she said.
   In the past, Athletes in Action has worked with the Mercer County Board of Social Services and served families primarily from the Trenton area.
   But this year, the group anticipates focusing its outreach efforts on local Princeton families, Ms. Murphy continued.
   She said the annual holiday event has grown considerably over the past several years, and said organizers are continuing to expand the number of groups participating as well as the number of families served.
   "The project is a great example of students coming together to make a positive difference in the community," Ms. Murphy said.
   She is a member of Princeton’s varsity lightweight crew team, and has rowed for the university since she was a freshman. She said the holiday gift initiative is a great way for student to feel like they’re part of a broader community.
   "This is really a way to make a difference in our immediate surroundings and give back when we’ve been so blessed, obviously, in our lives," she explained.
   Athletes in Action is an interdenominational Christian fellowship for college athletes. The organization has a presence on campuses throughout the nation and in several countries worldwide.
   At Princeton, the group seeks to help student athletes use school athletics in a faith-based effort to promote positive change in their personal lives and in society, according to the group’s Web site at Princeton.