Nov. 22, 2004

FAIRFIELD, CT - The Sacred Heart Women's Crew Team, led by head coach John Turner and Assistant Coach Alesandra Fischetti, made the single largest university student-athlete donation this Thanksgiving season to the Connecticut Food Bank on Sunday, November 21.

The women of the SHU Crew visited the Stop & Shop in Shelton, Connecticut where their purse of donated funds purchased 100 frozen turkeys, 240 cans of cranberry sauce, 168 cans of corn, 168 cans of green beans, 102 bags of stuffing and 102 boxes of rice.

"The crew raised $850 in five days, from their own pockets, employers, family and friends," says Coach Turner. "They baked brownies to sell in the dorms and returned bottles and cans for deposit. This money was matched by a corporate donor, giving us $1700."

From there, the Team delivered the turkeys to the Connecticut Food Bank, in Fairfield. Connecticut Food Bank serves emergency feeding programs in six of Connecticut's eight counties: Fairfield, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London and Windham. In 2003, Connecticut Food Bank distributed 12.4 million pounds of food to more than 500 charitable food programs.

The Team gathered the funds from their own pockets as well as from fellow SHU students, parents, friends and employers. Says Coach John Turner, "This crew has a lot of heart. They prove it on the racecourse and it shows in this effort as well."

Nancy L. Carrington, Executive Director of Connecticut Food Bank says "This generous donation of turkeys by SHU Crew will help feed approximately 600 people during the Thanksgiving holiday. In addition to helping their neighbors, the women of SHU Crew set a great example for others with their compassion and commitment."

Sacred Heart University added rowing, the oldest inter-collegiate sport, onto its list of 31 other sports 8 years ago. Since then, the program has grown stable and competitive, with this year's roster of 34 sporting gold, silver and bronze medals from their efforts at regional regattas. While the men's crew was discontinued 4 years ago, since then the women's roster has quadrupled.