Student-Athletes Focus on Giving Back

Above: Sal Annunziata (Assistant Athletic Director), Matthew Clarkin '18 (Varsity Baseball senior captain), and George Pisanti (Varsity Baseball Head Coach) delivering donated goods.

This past fall, Regis Baseball’s student-athletes and coaches partnered with Hillside Food Outreach, a charity that distributes food in Putnam County, Westchester County, and Western Connecticut on a monthly basis to over 2,100 housebound individuals living at or below the poverty level.

The Varsity and JV Baseball teams collected healthy food items throughout the fall months and donated approximately 1,350 pounds of food and personal hygiene items. On hand for the delivery were Varsity Head Coach George Pisanti, JV Coach and Assistant Athletic Director Sal Annunziata, and senior captain Matthew Clarkin '18.

“It has been great to work with Hillside Food Outreach, an organization I have personally supported for over a decade,” said Coach Pisanti.

(Pictured: On behalf of the Varsity Basketball team, Andy Vittoria '19, Conor Nicholson '18, and Charlie Bostwick '18 receive a “Heavy Lifting Volunteer Award" after completing the team's delivery to the Jan Hus Urban Outreach Program food pantry.)

“It was incredible to see our student-athletes work together with such purpose for a great cause,” added Coach Annunziata.

In addition to the baseball program, the entire Regis athletics department has made a commitment to serve the community this year. Earlier in the fall, the Cross Country team enhanced their team support for the Great Ignatian Challenge, which collected in excess of 18,500 pounds of food for local food banks and pantries in need of provisions. The Varsity Basketball team, along with coach and Athletics Director Kevin Cullen, then helped deliver a portion of this food to the Jan Hus Urban Outreach Program food pantry.

“The goal this year is to create and maintain a culture of giving back throughout our athletics program, to help our student-athletes understand the power in helping others.” says Coach Annunziata, “So far the response has been tremendous.”