Adopt-A-Family: 20 Years Down, Many More to Come
12/7/2018 10:07:00 AM | Field Hockey, Athletics, Men's Basketball, Softball, Features
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
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On Thursday night, Lehigh student-athletes provided a holiday for upwards of 50 local underprivileged families. The act is something that has become an annual staple of Lehigh Athletics, Lehigh University and the Bethlehem community.
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This year marked the 20th Annual Adopt-A-Family program, which began innocently enough in 1998 and has grown to include fraternities, sororities and other departments around campus.
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"I was in Wawa one morning and the woman that was making my sandwich was having a conversation with another employee, which I happened to hear," said head softball coach Fran Troyan. "I wasn't trying to ease drop, but I overheard them talking. She said her family decided to cancel Christmas because her husband just lost his job.
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"She said they were struggling to make ends meet to begin with, so they were telling their kids that unfortunately, Santa has cancelled Christmas this year."
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The conversation struck home for Troyan, who had young children himself.
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"Here I'm thinking my kids are going to get way too much," he said. "It really moved me."
(12/7/2018) 2018 Adopt-A-Family
Troyan met with Community Relations Director Roseann Corsi.
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Adopt-A-Family was born.
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"I thought we (Lehigh Athletics) should try to do something," said Troyan. "Roseann thought it was a great idea. Through some connections and contacts, Adopt-A-Family started small and has grown ever since. Roseann did all the leg work."
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"I can remember the conversation I had with Fran like it was yesterday," said Corsi. "My heart just broke when I heard the story and I immediately wanted to help those families in need. We started adopting a family for each sport. We didn't meet the families the first year because there were some uncomfortable feelings from the families. The second year through today, we meet all our families, which truly makes a difference to our student-athletes and myself. This event continues to grow each year and remains so passionate in all of our hearts."
Â
Over the last 20 years, Adopt-A-Family has become one of the staple programs of the Lehigh student-athlete experience. Put on by C.O.A.C.H. (Community Outreach by Athletes who Care About Helping), the event resonates for current student-athletes, but perhaps even more so, for athletes once they graduate.
Â
"I got involved in the COACH program early because Bethlehem is my hometown and I liked the idea of helping out my community," said field hockey alumna Caitlin Donnelly '12. "Adopt-A-Family is one of the first programs I was a part of, and I loved the strategy behind it - thinking of ways to involve local companies and coming together in this effort to make the holidays brighter. As my experience with the program grew, the impact we were having on these families was evident. It was also really fun to work together with my team to raise money, buy, wrap and deliver the presents."
Â
Many student-athletes get involved in Adopt-A-Family early in their careers, but experiencing the joy they bring to other people is what makes them want to become involved even more.
Â
"After seeing the joy and appreciation that the families expressed, the experience was overwhelming," said Lisa (Sweeney) Van Ackeren '09 of softball. "It was perspective-shifting for me as a student-athlete – to know that when I was training, going to class and enjoying time with my teammates and friends, that there were people in the surrounding community who were struggling and could use a boost. It was important to get out of a headspace of taking, and shift it into giving and gratitude."
Â
Not long after its inception, Adopt-A-Family quickly momentum and hasn't looked back.
Â
"It became something that everybody really wanted to be a part of," said Troyan. "There's a difference between donating to a cause and actually seeing a kid open the present in front of you. It's a very real thing and it allows our student-athletes to make a connection between doing something good and seeing the result.
Â
"The experience becomes a self-fulfilling, where the student-athletes like that feeling."
Â
There is no better example of the self-fulfilling nature of Adopt-A-Family than men's basketball alumnus Mitch Gilfillan '06. He liked the program so much that as an assistant basketball coach at Ball State University, he tried to adopt a similar community service initiative, leaning on Corsi for advice.
Â
"We started a Cardinals Care program to give our students an opportunity to give back, and it was truly modeled after Adopt-A-Family," said Gilfillan. "I've tried to work those same lessons I learned at Lehigh in every endeavor post-graduation. When I talk about Adopt-A-Family, I get excited about it. It's also so exciting to hear that it's continuing to rise."
Â
One reason the program has only continued to get bigger and better is because of the positive takeaways from everyone involved in the program, for both Lehigh and the community.
Â
"In every period of life, we go through tough times, but there are so many around us who may be struggling and going through tough times themselves," said Sweeney. "We're all in this together; it's a reflection that I'm reminded of often, especially this time of year knowing the current Lehigh student-athletes are working to leave their mark through giving back."
Â
Naturally, some families feel badly about being given so much seemingly out of the blue, which provides another teaching moment for the student-athletes.
Â
"We've actually gotten to the point where we talk to our players about doing it in a way that the parents don't feel badly about the situation," said Troyan. "Sometimes, when receiving all of this stuff, families think 'I can't afford to do this and somebody else has to do it.'
Â
"We're trying to teach our players compassion and putting themselves in their shoes. We want to make sure there's an understanding of the human level."
Â
The entire Adopt-A-Family event is all about the human level of life. Remove yourself from the "bubble" of being a Lehigh student and athlete, and help the community around you.
Â
"Adopt-A-Family teaches compassion and how to give in a time of need," said Gilfillan. "To be part of the cause, it brings about this awareness of a greater good and an attitude of giving back that really is priceless.
Â
"Adopt-A-Family for me kick-started this give-back approach I've taken since I've left Lehigh and continue to take to this day," Gilfillan continued. "As a practicing attorney, I'm using some of the same values I learned in Adopt-A-Family in my own practice."
Â
Coaches like Troyan love hearing the lasting impact Adopt-A-Family has post-graduation. Since the focus of Lehigh Athletics is around student-athlete development, Adopt-A-Family always seems to come up in the recruiting process.
"Almost invariably, either the recruits ask questions about community service or it's brought up by me," said Troyan. "Since Adopt-A-Family is something we've done for such a long time, it's the feature talking point. I'm able to explain how we raise the money and go out as a team to buy the gifts, once we figure out the ages of the kids and the families' needs. We wrap the gifts together, then give them together."
Â
Whether you're a prospective student-athlete, current student-athlete or former student-athlete, Lehigh Athletics has become synonymous with Adopt-A-Family.
Â
Twenty years down. Many more to come.
Â
"In life, when you become a professional, it's important to be a go-getter. It's just as important to be a go-giver," said Gilfillan. "Adopt-A-Family establish this selfless attitude of what can I do for somebody else, as opposed to what somebody can do for me."
Â
"I am so proud that Adopt-A-Family continues to inspire the Lehigh Athletics and Bethlehem communities," said Sweeney. "Twenty years? That's an incredible run and reflects how meaningful the whole process is to those involved. I was grateful to be able to share this experience for four years with my Lehigh softball teammates."
Â
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On Thursday night, Lehigh student-athletes provided a holiday for upwards of 50 local underprivileged families. The act is something that has become an annual staple of Lehigh Athletics, Lehigh University and the Bethlehem community.
Â
This year marked the 20th Annual Adopt-A-Family program, which began innocently enough in 1998 and has grown to include fraternities, sororities and other departments around campus.
Â
"I was in Wawa one morning and the woman that was making my sandwich was having a conversation with another employee, which I happened to hear," said head softball coach Fran Troyan. "I wasn't trying to ease drop, but I overheard them talking. She said her family decided to cancel Christmas because her husband just lost his job.
Â
"She said they were struggling to make ends meet to begin with, so they were telling their kids that unfortunately, Santa has cancelled Christmas this year."
Â
The conversation struck home for Troyan, who had young children himself.
Â
"Here I'm thinking my kids are going to get way too much," he said. "It really moved me."
Troyan met with Community Relations Director Roseann Corsi.
Â
Adopt-A-Family was born.
Â
"I thought we (Lehigh Athletics) should try to do something," said Troyan. "Roseann thought it was a great idea. Through some connections and contacts, Adopt-A-Family started small and has grown ever since. Roseann did all the leg work."
Â
"I can remember the conversation I had with Fran like it was yesterday," said Corsi. "My heart just broke when I heard the story and I immediately wanted to help those families in need. We started adopting a family for each sport. We didn't meet the families the first year because there were some uncomfortable feelings from the families. The second year through today, we meet all our families, which truly makes a difference to our student-athletes and myself. This event continues to grow each year and remains so passionate in all of our hearts."
Â
Over the last 20 years, Adopt-A-Family has become one of the staple programs of the Lehigh student-athlete experience. Put on by C.O.A.C.H. (Community Outreach by Athletes who Care About Helping), the event resonates for current student-athletes, but perhaps even more so, for athletes once they graduate.
Â
"I got involved in the COACH program early because Bethlehem is my hometown and I liked the idea of helping out my community," said field hockey alumna Caitlin Donnelly '12. "Adopt-A-Family is one of the first programs I was a part of, and I loved the strategy behind it - thinking of ways to involve local companies and coming together in this effort to make the holidays brighter. As my experience with the program grew, the impact we were having on these families was evident. It was also really fun to work together with my team to raise money, buy, wrap and deliver the presents."
Â
Many student-athletes get involved in Adopt-A-Family early in their careers, but experiencing the joy they bring to other people is what makes them want to become involved even more.
Â
"After seeing the joy and appreciation that the families expressed, the experience was overwhelming," said Lisa (Sweeney) Van Ackeren '09 of softball. "It was perspective-shifting for me as a student-athlete – to know that when I was training, going to class and enjoying time with my teammates and friends, that there were people in the surrounding community who were struggling and could use a boost. It was important to get out of a headspace of taking, and shift it into giving and gratitude."
Â
Not long after its inception, Adopt-A-Family quickly momentum and hasn't looked back.
 "It became something that everybody really wanted to be a part of," said Troyan. "There's a difference between donating to a cause and actually seeing a kid open the present in front of you. It's a very real thing and it allows our student-athletes to make a connection between doing something good and seeing the result.
Â
"The experience becomes a self-fulfilling, where the student-athletes like that feeling."
Â
There is no better example of the self-fulfilling nature of Adopt-A-Family than men's basketball alumnus Mitch Gilfillan '06. He liked the program so much that as an assistant basketball coach at Ball State University, he tried to adopt a similar community service initiative, leaning on Corsi for advice.
Â
"We started a Cardinals Care program to give our students an opportunity to give back, and it was truly modeled after Adopt-A-Family," said Gilfillan. "I've tried to work those same lessons I learned at Lehigh in every endeavor post-graduation. When I talk about Adopt-A-Family, I get excited about it. It's also so exciting to hear that it's continuing to rise."
Â
One reason the program has only continued to get bigger and better is because of the positive takeaways from everyone involved in the program, for both Lehigh and the community.
Â
"In every period of life, we go through tough times, but there are so many around us who may be struggling and going through tough times themselves," said Sweeney. "We're all in this together; it's a reflection that I'm reminded of often, especially this time of year knowing the current Lehigh student-athletes are working to leave their mark through giving back."
Â
Naturally, some families feel badly about being given so much seemingly out of the blue, which provides another teaching moment for the student-athletes.
 "We've actually gotten to the point where we talk to our players about doing it in a way that the parents don't feel badly about the situation," said Troyan. "Sometimes, when receiving all of this stuff, families think 'I can't afford to do this and somebody else has to do it.'
Â
"We're trying to teach our players compassion and putting themselves in their shoes. We want to make sure there's an understanding of the human level."
Â
The entire Adopt-A-Family event is all about the human level of life. Remove yourself from the "bubble" of being a Lehigh student and athlete, and help the community around you.
Â
"Adopt-A-Family teaches compassion and how to give in a time of need," said Gilfillan. "To be part of the cause, it brings about this awareness of a greater good and an attitude of giving back that really is priceless.
Â
"Adopt-A-Family for me kick-started this give-back approach I've taken since I've left Lehigh and continue to take to this day," Gilfillan continued. "As a practicing attorney, I'm using some of the same values I learned in Adopt-A-Family in my own practice."
Â
Coaches like Troyan love hearing the lasting impact Adopt-A-Family has post-graduation. Since the focus of Lehigh Athletics is around student-athlete development, Adopt-A-Family always seems to come up in the recruiting process.
"Almost invariably, either the recruits ask questions about community service or it's brought up by me," said Troyan. "Since Adopt-A-Family is something we've done for such a long time, it's the feature talking point. I'm able to explain how we raise the money and go out as a team to buy the gifts, once we figure out the ages of the kids and the families' needs. We wrap the gifts together, then give them together."
Â
Whether you're a prospective student-athlete, current student-athlete or former student-athlete, Lehigh Athletics has become synonymous with Adopt-A-Family.
Â
Twenty years down. Many more to come.
Â
"In life, when you become a professional, it's important to be a go-getter. It's just as important to be a go-giver," said Gilfillan. "Adopt-A-Family establish this selfless attitude of what can I do for somebody else, as opposed to what somebody can do for me."
Â
"I am so proud that Adopt-A-Family continues to inspire the Lehigh Athletics and Bethlehem communities," said Sweeney. "Twenty years? That's an incredible run and reflects how meaningful the whole process is to those involved. I was grateful to be able to share this experience for four years with my Lehigh softball teammates."
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