SALSC Elves at Lehigh

By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Media Relations

According to its website, Student-Athletes Leading Social Change (SALSC) is a passionate coalition of current and former college student-athletes who want to use their leadership skills to make a real difference on a local, national and international level.

"The whole entire movement of Lehigh's SALSC team is to create a new social dynamic and challenge social norms," said softball senior Emily Bausher, a co-captain of Lehigh's chapter. "We do that by creating connections with people."

This passionate group of 19 student-athletes is creating a meaningful connection with others this holiday season. They've been given a special assignment from Santa to write letters to not only children, but also people of all ages. The SALSC student-athletes spent time earlier this month to write the letters.

"This project is about spreading some holiday love," said former women's lacrosse player Anna Patterson '13, formally of SALSC and currently a graduate assistant. "SALSC is focused on social interactions and connections between people. People will usually send these letters to loved ones, whether it's their friends, their kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, friends, neighbors or parents. You're spreading some love and some holiday cheer. That's what's behind this initiative.

For a small donation of five dollars, people could send a letter from Santa. The letter brightens someone's day, all while helping raise money to send one or two student-athletes on the yearly summer service trip, where the national SALSC organization rallies around a project promoting education, leadership, health and sports. This summer's trip is to Philadelphia while last summer, Derek Knott travelled to Washington D.C. Past trips included places like Ecuador and Kenya (where Patterson went).

The student-athletes take pride in implementing creative fundraisers.

"Here at Lehigh, our SALSC team is full of great people and great contributors to the community," said senior football player A.J. Visconti. "It's definitely grown a lot since I've been a member and I'm excited to see what Lehigh's SALSC group will do after our group of seniors graduate. The growth comes not only from the great people who are involved, but also the fundraisers we are able to put together (like this). We try to create fundraisers that can both raise money for our causes and bring the community together in different ways."
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Former softball standout Liz Lucas '12, whose grandfather looks just like Santa, helped bring the Letters from Santa initiative to Lehigh.

"I am very proud that I was able to bring the initiative to SALSC," said Lucas. "My grandparents started the initiative for an organization in Colorado. With their help, I was able to start the program at Lehigh. I am very proud our SALSC team was able to get the program running and even more proud that the current team is continuing."

The initiative is enjoyable and beneficial for all parties involved.

"Nick and Emily (our SALSC team leaders) gave me the opportunity to helm the Letters from Santa fundraiser this year, and I jumped on it as soon as I could," said Visconti. "It is something that brings families together, who celebrate Christmas, as well as our Lehigh SALSC family. We spend hours working on the letters with Santa and the elves, listening to Christmas music and just getting excited for the upcoming holiday season."

The student-athletes reach out to all different people, from the athletic department to professors and even the local community through places like nursing homes, which give grandparents an opportunity to send letters to their grandchildren. The extension has continued to grow.

"There's something special about the spirit of change, but there's something even more special about the spirit of holidays and being able to give back to the community," said SALSC co-captain Nick Stephens. "Even though it's a way to help fund our SALSC trip over the summer, this is an incredible way for money to actually be sponsored with an interesting new twist. It's been a blessing to see the heart of the organization from where it was to where it is this year."

From Lucas' original idea, Stephens and Bausher have taken the idea and run.

"It's become something that the community has appreciated and administration loved because they could send it to their kids and other loved ones," said Stephens.

Keeping the end goal in mind is important. Donations from Santa Letters are going directly to this summer's service project in Philadelphia. SALSC is adopting Penrose Middle School in Southwest Philadelphia for a week. The school's Bartram Field is currently condemned and students are unable to use the field, so SALSC student-athletes from around the country are working to raise funds, supplies and equipment, then will come together for a week in June.

Especially as student-athletes, SALSC understands how important it is that kids have a place to play, practice and have fun. In addition to spending a week from June 21-26 revitalizing and transforming the athletic fields, student-athletes leaders from Leadership Academies will conduct a week-long Leadership Academy with the Penrose students.

"This is exactly one of our fundraisers that really exemplify what the organization stands for," said Bausher. "Giving back to the community in a way that creates connection and creates better social change through the letters is something we've really tried to encompass."

"We're about inclusion," said Stephens. "We've been looking to create an inclusive campus. The idea is to create this idea of family from our side, not only our SALSC team, but creating an athletic family and creating a community that believes in its inclusivity of social matters. That's been our goal and is especially true with this initiative. Tis the season."

Lehigh University Athletics

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