CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (Dec. 18, 2013) – Three East Coast Conference member schools hosted a “Night Out” community engagement event on Friday, December 13.
A tradition in its seventh year in the New York Institute of Technology athletic department, the “Night Out” event was expanded to include Dowling College and Molloy College as part of an ECC community initiative. The event allows parents from the schools’ local communities the opportunity to have an evening out after dropping off their children in a fun environment with activities run by student-athletes.
“The ‘ECC Night Out’ was another piece of the ongoing effort by the East Coast Conference and our member schools to show their commitment to being a supportive partner in their communities,” stated ECC Commissioner, Dr. Robert Dranoff. “Giving parents a safe, fun place to drop their kids at these three schools for a few hours while they went out shopping or took care of other things, turned out to be a real success.”
Children who attended the event took part in numerous physical activities, played board games, participated in arts and crafts stations, and were given a healthy dinner.
“I am very proud of the combined efforts of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, the Student Government Association and Greek Letter Council in making this community engagement a staple for our athletic department and institution,” said NYIT Director of Athletics, Clyde M. Doughty Jr. “With this year’s partnership with the East Coast Conference and Dowling and Molloy Colleges, we have provided the Long Island community with an outstanding experience that children and parents will remember for years to come.”
Molloy’s Director of Athletics, Susan Cassidy-Lyke stated, “It was very enjoyable for our staff and student-athletes. The children were very excited and loved interacting with one another in all the different activities. The appreciative words from the parents who took advantage of a free night out was encouraging.”
“I am very proud our student-athletes, coaches and staff for making this inaugural event such a great success,” said Dowling’s Vice President for Athletics, Melody Cope. “We were pleased to offer local parents a night out. A great time was had by all.”
Student-athletes who helped run the events echoed the administrators sentiments. Adam Schuster, a member of the baseball team at Dowling said, “This was such a great event to have around the holiday season. We hope all the kids had as much fun as we did.” NYIT women’s cross country member, Gina Dorso added, ” Night Out on the Bears is a great tradition here at NYIT. It is an important event because it allows us to interact with and give back to the community. It is a fun night not only for the kids involved but for the student-athletes as well.” Tracey Balinskas, a member of the softball team at Molloy also stated, ” I had an awesome time with these kids and I loved doing crafts with them and getting them into the holiday spirit. It was great that we could give their parents a break from watching them ”
Dranoff noted the kind support provided by ECC sponsor, Sports Authority. Peter Lindenbaum, Community Marketing Rep for Sports Authority, arranged for the donation of giveaway gifts such as bags, balls, water bottles, and coupons for the children participating. The ECC is partnering this year with Sports Authority both in the community and on campus.
“We look forward to continuing this program and expanding it to our other campuses next year, as well as promoting all the amazing community support efforts our schools make,” said Dranoff.
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About the ECC
Founded as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1989 and rechristened the East Coast Conference in July 2006, the ECC was formed to enhance intercollegiate athletic competition among member institutions and to assist them in integrating athletics into their academic program in a fiscally sound way. The ECC is committed to the highest standards of scholarship, sportsmanship, teamwork, and citizenship. Its mission is to promote the total person concept in its student-athletes, which stresses the abilities to excel in academic achievement, athletic competition, and positive character traits. East Coast Conference members include: University of Bridgeport (Bridgeport, Conn.); University of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.); Daemen College (Amherst, N.Y.); Dowling College (Oakdale, N.Y.); LIU Post (Brookville, N.Y.); Mercy College (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.); Molloy College (Rockville Centre, N.Y.); New York Institute of Technology (Old Westbury, N.Y.); Queens College (Flushing, N.Y.); Roberts Wesleyan College (Rochester, N.Y.) and St. Thomas Aquinas College (Sparkill, N.Y.). Associate Members include: Chestnut Hill College (Philadelphia, Pa.), Dominican College (Orangeburg, N.Y.), and Georgian Court University (Lakewood, N.J.).
The ECC sponsors the following championship sports: baseball; men’s and women’s basketball; men’s and women’s cross country; men’s and women’s lacrosse; softball; men’s and women’s tennis; men’s and women’s indoor track and field; men’s and women’s outdoor track and field; men’s and women’s soccer; and women’s volleyball.
The East Coast Conference is a proud member of the NCAA and Division II. Division II is a dynamic and engaging group of colleges, institutions and conferences of varying sizes and educational missions. Division II members encourage and support diversity; value sportsmanship, fairness and equity; and place the highest priority on the overall educational excellence of the student-athlete.
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