Jan. 10, 2008
The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team has been busy over the last few months. Besides starting the season with a 13-2 record, the Jackets took part in various community service initiatives.
The Yellow Jacket basketball team, in conjunction with the other Tech women’s teams, has been at the forefront of supporting the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Since the beginning of the season, the Jackets collected Yoplait yogurt lids in a competition with North Carolina State for the Save Lids to Save Lives campaign. Tech earned its second-consecutive victory in the competition, collecting over 12,000 lids. Tech not only defeated NC State, the Jackets collected the most lids in the nation.
The Jackets received an extra boost from one of the program’s biggest supporters, Maureen Weidner, a professor in building construction at Georgia Tech. The past two years, Weidner, a survivor of breast cancer, has educated her students on the disease and has promoted them to take part in the campaign. The students responded by collecting over 1,900 lids, and received some extra credit in return.
“Georgia Tech is a very high profile program in the area and anything they do to promote breast cancer awareness can help with finding a cure,” Weidner said. “As a breast cancer survivor, it has been great to see what the Georgia Tech women’s programs have done to raise money to help find a cure. The funds raised are also going to help individuals that are uninsured or underinsured receive the quality care that they need.”
The teams have also been selling pink t-shirts, donated by Russell Athletic, with 100 percent of the proceeds being donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Over the past semester, the Georgia Tech women’s programs have collected almost $10,000 for the Atlanta Susan G. Komen Foundation.
During the Christmas holiday, the team joined forces with Familiesfirst.org to Adopt-A-Family and was paired with a special family of five. The Jackets invited this family to their Dec. 6 game against South Carolina Upstate. After the game, the team introduced themselves and invited the family back for a holiday dinner in their locker room.
“It is always great to take your mind off of basketball and do some good in the community,” senior forward Janie Mitchell said.
The dinner took place on Dec. 21 in the women’s locker room. The team and coaching staff separated into their academic classes to buy a member of the family a holiday gift. The members of the Tech team were able to interact with the family and share a little holiday spirit with a family that deserves it. The family had a lot of fun and was very appreciative.
Yoplait Yogurt Save Lids to Save Lives Campaign – Tech vs. NC State:
Georgia Tech – 12,248 vs. NC State – 1,630
Yoplait Yogurt Save Lids to Save Lives Campaign Final National Tally:
Georgia Tech – 12,248
South Florida – 8,181
Clemson – 5,173
Central Michigan – 4,228
IU of PA – 3,948
Duke – 3,533
Maryland – 3,362
Michigan St. – 2,835
South Carolina – 2,712
Tennessee – 2,420
Clarion – 2,067
Florida – 1,726
NC State – 1,630
Robert Morris – 1,303
Miami (FL) – 1,144
UNC – 1,144
Monmouth – 581
