LHU professors Matt Girton (left) and Barbara Pribble (center) served as celebrity auctioneers for the SAAC fundraising auction. On the right is LHU soccer player Bobby Mohr. Photo by Kristen Kudrick.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The Lock Haven University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s (SAAC) Student-Athlete “Date” Auction, recently held in Price Auditorium, raised over $1300 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

This was the first such auction for LHU’s SAAC, which serves as a voice for student-athletes on campus and is comprised of representatives from each of the University’s 18 athletics teams and the student athletic trainers. Those male and female student-athletes participating in the event were auctioned off by guest auctioneers and LHU professors Matthew Girton and Barbara Pribble, who volunteered their time (and humor!) to assist with the project.

Student-athlete organizers confirmed that the auction was a success. “We [SAAC] put a lot of effort into planning and everyone pitched in to help run the event,” said SAAC vice president Janine McCarthy, “so it was definitely exciting for it to have gone so well and to hear the final total raised.”

“This was the most money we’ve raised for Make-A-Wish in a single event since I’ve been a member of SAAC,” echoed Jen Williams, SAAC President and the night’s top bid-getter at $100, “I think everyone involved had a lot of fun.”

The event served as a great opportunity to help out those in need, and students participating were able to have some light-hearted fun and enjoy themselves. The event also included a raffle, and many students left with an assortment of prizes including donations from LHU athletics teams, Original Italian Pizza, That’s the Scoop, and Aramark.

The money raised goes to SAAC’s annual fundraising goal for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. Since it s founding in 1980, over 193,000 children worldwide have had their wishes granted.