Mountain Hawks host local youngster as part of Adopt Lehigh Valley Kids program

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Last Friday, Lehigh Athletics opened its doors to a local youngster, Cash'mere as part of the Adopt Lehigh Valley Kids program through The Salvation Army. Several student-athletes showed Cash around Taylor Gym, home of Lehigh Athletics. They gave him a tour of the Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame, athletics offices and Student-Athlete Lounge before ending the visit at the Taylor Gym basketball court where they had some fun and even played a game of knockout.

WFMZ TV was on hand for the visit and put together this piece.

"The Adopt Lehigh Valley Kids Waiting Child Segment really brings awareness to kids who need to be adopted and need to find their permanent families," said Helene Kosciolek, older child matching initiative recruiter. "In respect to Cash, it's getting him out there so people can see what a great kid he is. If they're interested, they can contact either me at my agency, or The Salvation Army and get more information about him and how to become a Foster Adopted Parent."

(3/7/2018) Adopt Lehigh Valley Kids Program

Cash is a fan of basketball, so was especially interested and excited to see the new Etra Brothers Basketball Suite and its imaging, including a collage looking back to Lehigh men's basketball's 2012 NCAA Tournament win over Duke.

"Basketball is something for us to bond over and talk about," said sophomore Jordan Cohen. "We played knockout together. He even beat me once.

"It hurt my feelings a little bit," Cohen laughed.

"For me as his worker, it was important for him to do something with basketball because I know how much he loves it," said Kosciolek. "The fact that he was able to meet a player and get to shoot around and have fun with these kids, hopefully it will help boost his confidence, too."

For the Lehigh student-athletes, it was a unique experience and a fun way to give back to the community.

"It's nice to actually have interactions with people who are less fortunate, just like Adopt-A-Family in December," said women's lacrosse junior Kellie Gough. "It was awesome to have Cash come to our school and see how an accredited university works. Hopefully, it gives him a desire to go to a school like this."

The day served a lot of purposes, helping Cash find a permanent home while also giving him student-athletes to look up to.

"It's really important for Lehigh, and others in the local community, to be willing to help with this program," said Kosciolek. "It gives kids a fun day out and a new perspective; being on a college campus is something he's never experienced before. Hopefully for him being here, meeting these great students, it could help open his eyes to see if college is something he'd be interested in."

Friday was the latest of many rewarding experiences as Lehigh student-athletes continue to give back to those around them.

"I'm a part of Student-Athlete Mentors because I enjoy helping the first-year students," said Cohen. "It's great to be able to help someone and take a little bit of time out of my day. It was fun. I enjoyed hanging out with Cash."

"We try to come up with the newest and most exciting ways to give back to the community," said Gough. "There are some ways you don't think about and I don't think we would have thought about this if The Salvation Army didn't approach [Community Relations Coordinator] Roseann Corsi. I'm so glad they did because it was really nice getting to know Cash."

Lehigh University Athletics

Mountain Hawks host local youngster as part of Adopt Lehigh Valley Kids program

Players Mentioned

Jordan Cohen

Kellie Gough

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