In an effort to help worthy organizations during the spring semester, the USA South Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) developed, "Pennies for a Purpose", in 2008. This year's community service initiative, in its 14th year, began as the student-athletes returned from winter break. The schools had until April 14th to collect loose change which would later be donated to an organization of their choosing.
Overall, the USA South institutions collected $15,367.07! Helping the Conference achieve that amount was the fact that three institutions (Pfeiffer, Piedmont, William Peace) set program records for funds collected while another four (Averett, Covenant, Huntingdon, Meredith, Salem) improved on their totals from the previous year. Over the 14-year history of the program, the USA South institutions have donated $131,740.25 to local organizations.
With a grand total of $5,334.00, William Peace is the Pennies for a Purpose champion for the first time since winning the very first competition in 2008. The amount the Pacers raised is the third-highest single-year total collected in the history of this competition. Averett raised $4,517.00 to finish second with the sixth-highest single-year total ever collected. In third place was Piedmont with $1,259.71 raised, followed closely by LaGrange ($1,258.00) and Pfeiffer ($1,200.00).
This is the second community service program developed by the USA South Conference SAAC as the "Cans Across the Conference" food drive, which takes place during the Thanksgiving holiday, was created in 2004. Through that campaign, USA South Institutions have donated a total of 603,230 items to their local communities. Averett was victorious in that competition for the sixth consecutive year by collecting 11,361 items.
Below is a list of the local organizations where the USA South institutions donated their collections:
Agnes Scott College - Special Olympics Georgia.
Averett University - Samaritan's Feet, The Team Molly Foundation, and Haven for the Dan River, Virginia Region.
Covenant College - Chattanooga Sports Ministry.
Greensboro College - The Salvation Army of Greensboro, North Carolina.
Huntingdon College - The Montgomery, Alabama Humane Society.
LaGrange College - Feeding the Valley Foundation in LaGrange, Georgia.
Mary Baldwin University - The 555 group, a local organization that provides feminine products to women in need.
Meredith College - The Helen Wright Women's Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Methodist University - The Kay Yow Foundation.
N.C. Wesleyan College - Rocky Mount, North Carolina Boys and Girls Club.
Pfeiffer University - St. Jude Children's Hospital.
Piedmont University - The Grace Gate Clinic of Habersham County, Georgia.
Salem College - Winston Salem, North Carolina Special Olympics.
William Peace University - Vs. Cancer