SAAC Gives Back With Annual Food Drive

Patchogue, NY| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) teamed up with Branches Long Island for this year's Fall/Thanksgiving Food Drive.

For weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, the Golden Eagles collected food donations to be delivered to Branches Long Island and distributed to families in need.

SAAC also hosted a volleyball tournament which took place in the Danzi Center gym during common hour — featured six teams of student-athletes and staff from the Long Island Campus. Each participant made a canned-food donation.

"The goal of the tournament was to promote a sense of community at the University and help local families in need," said Margaret Kopcienski '23, a women's basketball team member and current SAAC president.

"SAAC always does a great job giving back to the community, especially during the holiday season and today's event was an incredible example of that," said SAAC Advisor and Long Island Campus Manager of Athletic Communications Jackie Rogers.  "It was amazing to see support from our teams and staff both on the court and with donations."

Branches Long Island was founded in 2019 by Samantha Morales after she realized the amount of people in need on Long Island. She started out doing it alone and once she became a legal 501c3 she quickly grew! She is joined by an amazing group of women who dedicate their time every week to better the community.

Branches Long Island helps those in need with no judgments. They work side by side with many social workers and homeless shelters on Long Island offering a variety of services. As of May 2020 they opened their first location in Middle Island, NY and plan to offer classes and counseling along with their weekly blessing boxes which provides necessities to the families in crisis on Long Island.