Oct. 21, 2005

The women's soccer team was the honored guest at the annual Toys for Tots weekend Sept. 16-18. St. Louis University has been the host for nine years now to the tournament sponsored by Army and Air Force. This weekend was designed to give back to those who are less fortunate than us. Many of the children were terminally ill or handicapped. On game day, representatives from each team visited hospitals to interact and entertain the children. Each team also brought small gifts to add an extra smile to their day. In turn, a few of them gave us a smile as they supported us by attending our game that evening.

Another perk to the weekend was the opportunity to work a camp for children with Downs Syndrome. The St. Louis University women's team runs the camp Saturday mornings on eight different occasions throughout their season. Sophomore defender, Emily Sedgwick said, "It was a very touching experience and it helped us realize how fortunate we are and also how rewarding it can be to help others." This is something that our program is looking to add to our agenda as well.

Junior defender Jen Legge added, "Being able to work with the children was a really memorable experience. Anything to brighten the difficult days that these children are facing is definitely worth it."