SAAC, Team IMPACT Partner to Benefit Children

URI’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council announced in May that it has partnered with Team IMPACT, a Boston-based non-profit chartered to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening illnesses.

“Student-athletes at the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee meetings have received the partnership with great enthusiasm,” said Tristany Leikem ’12, president of URI SAAC. “As student-athletes, we are really looking forward to partnering with Team Impact and learning as much from our new teammates as they do from us.”

Members of the women’s basketball team visit Hasbro Children’s Hospital on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Left to right, the basketball players are Sherrie Session, Kerry Wallack, Lara Gaspar, Megan Straumann, Ajanae Boone, and Emilie Cloutier.

As part of this partnership, URI SAAC will work with Team IMPACT to identify children in the South County area and “draft” them onto one of their athletic teams. The child becomes an official member of the team with special access to games, practices, and other team-based activities.

“Joining forces should help Team IMPACT’s outreach efforts in Rhode Island and will ultimately provide our student-athletes with a unique opportunity to give back to those in the community,” said Director of Athletics Thorr Bjorn. “I can’t say enough about how wonderful the URI students and the staff have been at all levels.”