Fourteen Cornell athletic teams, one advisory committee and 13 staff members in the Department of Athletics and Physical Education have broken their previous record for helping to meet the holiday needs of disadvantaged families by "adopting" 20 needy families this year (up from their previous record of 17 families), including 15 single parents and 54 children, through the Salvation Army Adopt-a-Family Program.

Adopting a family involves purchasing, wrapping and labeling three toys and two articles of clothing per child, purchasing generic gifts for the adults and buying food for three days, including a special holiday meal (such as a turkey or ham with all the fixings).

The athletics department has participated in the program for many years, says Associate Director Andrea Dutcher, MILR '87, who heads up the athletic department efforts.

Participating this year are women's basketball, gymnastics, rowing, fencing, field hockey, ice hockey, equestrian, lacrosse, soccer, track and volleyball teams; men's basketball, soccer and track teams; and the Student Athletic Advisory Committee. In addition, staff members have donated more than $800 to help support the teams' shopping efforts.

The women's basketball, gymnastics and rowing teams have participated in the Adopt-a-Family program for more than a decade, said Dayna Smith, the Rebecca Quinn Morgan '60 Head Coach of Women's Basketball.

"We have truly enjoyed being part of this wonderful program," Smith said. "Our team understands we are fortunate in so many ways, and anytime we have the opportunity to give back to others, we want to do so. Our team enjoys shopping together, wrapping the presents and making a family's holiday a little bit brighter. It's a rewarding program for everyone involved, and we feel honored to be a part of it."

"Without the benefit of an adoption, these families would be looking forward to a very grim holiday," says the Salvation Army's website, which notes that being adopted is designed to be a once or, on very rare occasions, twice in a lifetime event for recipient families.

While individuals and teams have already been assigned their families through the Salvation Army program, members of the Cornell community can still help children in need by sponsoring a child through the Cornell Elves Winter Holiday Program by contacting a leader in a building near them. See http://www.elves.cornell.edu/ for the list of leaders. Participants are given shopping guidelines for purchasing gifts to be donated through the program.