By: Drew Wilson/Assistant Director of Athletics for Communications & Administration

FOREST, Va. — Averett University’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) helped collect 10,371 canned food donations to help the Cougars win the 2024 Old Dominion Athletic Conference’s SAAC food drive competition.

Averett’s more than 10,000 items collected were donated locally to God’s Storehouse of Danville. It’s the second consecutive year Averett has won the competition.

“We are so thankful for everyone who helped us reach beyond our goal, and give back to our community, which pours so much into us,” said junior Brenda Light, a women’s volleyball student-athlete and Averett SAAC’s public relations coordinator. “It’s truly an amazing experience to witness student-athletes going above and beyond for a greater purpose. Thank you to everyone who helped make giving back to our community possible.”

Averett’s total of 10,371 helped ODAC institutions collectively total a conference record of more than 39,000 canned donations in a single year. Guilford College finished second to Averett with 9,762 items and Randolph-Macon College was third at 4,730 items, while Bridgewater College and Washington and Lee University rounded out the top five.