FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Drew Sauer,Graduate Assistant to Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

Jan. 5, 2012-- The North Central College athletic department has been honored with three awards from the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA) for its vast array of community service efforts for the 2010-11 academic year.

The department was honored with the Award of Merit for a one-time service project due to their efforts in The Wings at Their Feet Back to School Supply Drive, where school supplies were raised then later donated to Olney C. Allen Elementary School in Aurora, Ill., and Emerson Elementary School in Madison, Wis., a school that serves homeless children through a transitional education program.

An additional Award of Merit, for an array of projects, was also presented to North Central in recognition of continual service throughout the community over the academic year, which included a dozen projects such as Habitat for Humanity, Relay for Life, and Feed My Starving Children.

North Central also received an Honorable Mention award for its ongoing involvement with the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. This past year, the Cardinals' football and women's soccer and lacrosse teams have "adopted" children through the foundation, which matches up high school or collegiate sport teams with children that are diagnosed with pediatric brain cancer. Student-athletes planned social activities and attended fundraisers on the children's behalf.

Voting for the awards, which have been presented for the past 10 years, is done by the NADIIIAA committee, comprised of athletic directors from across the country.  A number of factors are involved in the voting process but not limited to the objective of the service project, number of student-athletes involved, and the impact the service project had on the targeted audience.  More information on NADIIIAA and the service awards can be found at http://nadiiiaa.org/.