Another Win for Everyone

11/30/2012 10:17:00 AM (Re-printed from the Ripon Commonwealth Online) Ripon College basketball teams will hold food/toy drive Tuesday Dec. 4

The Ripon College men's and women's basketball teams, together with the fans in attendance, will try to help those in need Tuesday, Dec. 4 as they'll hold a "Drive To The Hoop" event in which fans are asked to bring canned goods and/or a new or unused toy.    All fans who bring an item for donation will get free admission into that night's games against Beloit College, which will begin with the women's game at 5 p.m. and the men's game following at approximately 7.     During the past several years, the college has worked closely with the Ripon Community Thrift Store and Food Pantry, helping fill their shelves for the holidays.    Last year, the students, staff, faculty, family and friends of Ripon College collected 1,790 food items, exceeding the goal by 90 items. Ripon College also sent $961.80 to the food pantry in donations to help ensure that there was enough food for those in need.     The Food Pantry is most in need of staples such as peanut butter, jelly, tuna fish and "meals in a box" like Macaroni & Cheese, Hamburger Helper, and Rice-A-Roni, pancake or baking mixes, cereal/oatmeal, granola bars, snacks for children; things that families could eat in a hurry, with minimal preparation required.     The food drive will be in conjunction with a toy drive, in which fans will be asked to donate new and/or unused items in original packaging, new and gently used books and new and unused handmade items.    The Ripon College men’s and women’s basketball teams will be paying a visit to the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Saturday, Dec. 15 to give those donations, along with other Christmas presents, to kids suffering from heart issues.     Current men’s basketball assistant coach Brad Clark’s son was diagnosed with heart disease when he was born and through the work of the staff at Children’s Hospital he is making a full recovery.    Children's Hospital of Wisconsin is one of the nation's top pediatric facilities. It also is a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center verified by the American College of Surgeons.    Founded in 1894, Children's Hospital serves children with all types of illnesses, injuries, birth defects and other disorders.    Children's Hospital is one of the busiest pediatric hospitals in the nation.    In 2011, 24,207 infants, children and adolescents were admitted and 347,972 were seen in the hospital's specialty outpatient clinics and urgent care sites.