Our UPEI varsity athletes are some of the busiest students you will ever find on and off the UPEI campus.
One of the responsibilities of being a UPEI Panther is to create a positive image for sport in our community by working with young people and fundraising for charitable organizations. Varsity athletes are even responsible for ensuring that Pride, our occasionally unruly Panther mascot, finds his way to various community events.
Each January our Panther athletes participate in the IWK Spin-a-thon. This year they raised over $1,000 for the IWK Hospital in Halifax. The Women’s Soccer team sold hats for and participated in the Canadian Cancer Society’s Run for the Cure, and the Basketball team sold T-shirts for Shoot for the Cure, raising $2,000. Women’s Soccer and Men’s Hockey conduct an annual food drive for the Food Bank, and Women’s Soccer holds an Inner City Soccer Camp for low-income families. Women’s Hockey conducts a waterfront clean-up and Women’s Field Hockey participates in the Run for the Cure.
The UPEI Student Athletics Council, made up of reps from each of the Panther teams, oversees all the projects as part of their official mandate.
Panther athlete Carly LaFave, Women’s Basketball, comments on fundraising for great causes:
"The Shoot for the Cure fundraiser brought our team together; and also united our team and the community in order to raise money for a good cause. With the support of the community, university, and the other athletes, we all contributed to make a huge difference. As an individual, or a team, or a community, so much was gained from this amazing experience; I just wish we had more than one week to fundraise!"
And Sara Stewart, Panther Soccer, says:
"I, myself, along with the whole Women’s Soccer team love getting out there and helping the community with different events and fundraisers. Getting involved in our community allows athletes to be a part of something bigger than just sport. It gives us the opportunity to become leaders not just on the field, but in the community as well. I think it is great when Mike and Clarence (our coaches) are asked if our team could come help out with a certain event. It looks great for the program, for UPEI, and we just really enjoy helping out at the end of the day. As athletes, our season doesn’t end after the AUS Championship or after CIS nationals; we continue to do community work throughout the entire year, and it’s something that the Women’s Soccer program has done for years, and will continue to do for many years to come."
Here are some 2009-2010 activities involving Panther athletes:
• Valentine’s Day visit to QEH Children’s Ward
• Tim Horton’s Food Drive
• Alzheimer’s Walk
• Run for the Cure
• Friends of Mohamed Soccer Game
• SOS Children’s Villages 12-Hour Game
• West Kent Fall Fair
• Bingo with Seniors
• Alzheimer’s Christmas House Tours
• Newcomers’ Sports Day
• Newcomers’ Hockey Game with Trius Tours
• Toys for Tots Christmas campaign
• Food Bank Drive
• Soccer Programs for Newcomers
• Inner City Soccer Camp
• Jr. Diabetes fundraiser
• TD Friend of Environment waterfront clean-up
• Hockey PEI Development clinics
• Sherwood Minor Hockey clinics
• Reading program at L.M. Montgomery School
• Men’s Basketball fundraiser for Alzheimer’s
• Women’s Basketball Shoot for the Cure
• Basketball—Shooting Clinic for Kensington Minor Basketball Association
• Helping Hoops fundraising in Summerside (6-hour basketball game) in support of AIDS research
• Fall Coaching Clinics at high schools
• IWK Spin-A-Thon
• Passion for Life BBQ
• Adult Sport Fair
• UPEI Homecoming Weekend
