Since its founding in 2005, the Syracuse University Sport Management (SPM) Club, a student-run organization in the College of Human Ecology’s David B. Falk Center for Sport Management, has donated nearly $100,000 to local Central New York charities. As a result of its most successful annual sport auction in December 2009, the SPM Club made a $21,579.16 gift to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York. The SPM Club’s donation will fund an aquarium that will be the centerpiece of the House’s media and dining rooms.
The CNY Ronald McDonald House provides housing for families traveling from at least 25 miles away while their children are hospitalized with serious illnesses and injuries. Guest families receive home-cooked meals, a warm bed, a place to relax and rejuvenate, as well as a place to connect with other families of seriously ill children. The Ronald McDonald House works in partnership with SUNY Upstate Medical University, St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, Crouse Hospital and the Golisano Children’s Hospital at Upstate.
“Giving back to the Syracuse community that our students call home for four years was the founding premise of the SPM Club, and we’re so pleased by how they’ve embraced this philosophy,” says Kate Futrell, manager of the career center and event planning for SU’s Department of Sport Management and the 2009 auction chair. “We also sincerely appreciate the support of the greater Syracuse community and all the companies and individuals who have contributed to our success and our ability to raise almost $100,000 over the past five years.”
“Our Sport Management Club’s annual charity sports auction is a true testimonial to the values inherent in the mission of the College of Human Ecology—and what we instill in our students—which is the importance of social responsibility and giving back to others and to our community,” says Diane Lyden Murphy, dean of the College of Human Ecology. “I couldn’t be prouder of the students, faculty and staff involved in making this event an overwhelming success year after year.”
Other local charities supported by the SPM Club’s auction proceeds in previous years have included the Syracuse Boys and Girls Clubs, the American Diabetes Association of Central New York and the Golisano Children’s Hospital at Upstate.
“Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York is grateful for the generous donation we recently received from the Syracuse University Sport Management Club,” says Beth Trunfio, executive director, Ronald McDonald House Charities of CNY. “The money raised during the Syracuse University Charity Sports Auction will help our organization continue to keep the families of seriously ill children together during their most difficult times.”
The SPM Club was recognized with a 2009 Chancellor’s Award for Public Engagement and Scholarship and most recently received the 2009 Orange Circle Award from the SU Alumni Association to honor SU alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students who have achieved extraordinary accomplishments in support of others.
