UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University Department of Athletics has been selected as one of eighteen winners recipients of for the NACMA/Division II Community Engagement Award of Excellence for its 2009-10 Community Youth Day (CYD) program.   Community Youth Days are free sport clinics offered to kids in grades K-8 on five occasions throughout the year.  These clinics are held in conjunction with a home Football or Basketball game where kids and their parents can attend at no charge and kids are provided with concession vouchers, a t-shirt, other incentives and priceless opportunities to interact with Cardinal Athletes & Coaches.

Underwritten by Graff Chevrolet in Bay City, SVSU hosted over 535 kids during last year's CYD program.  St. Mary’s of Michigan, in conjunction with Paramount Rehabilitation Services, provided 200 bicycle helmets and custom fittings at two clinics while Graff contributed four bicycles and two karaoke machines for give-aways.   In addition,  The Just for Kids Foundation, on behalf of Maier & Associates Financial, kicked in two $250 scholarships to be invested into the Michigan Education Savings Program for College.

The NCAA Division II and NACMA staged the contest to build momentum for the Division II community engagement initiative and to reward institutions for their creativity in advancing relationships within their community. Division II schools were encouraged to submit their best community-engagement promotion from the "ideas that work" section of the Division II community-engagement website (www.diicommunity.org).

"SVSU Athletics is proud to host Community Youth Days for the kids in the Great Lakes Bay Region. We are fortunate to have great student-athletes, coaches and sponsors who believe in the purpose and mission of these clinics, which are to bring families to the campus, expose them to Institutions of Higher Education, engage them in a health & wellness activity all while taking in a quality DII Intercollegiate athletic Football or Basketball contest" commented Assistant Athletic Director Angela Pohl. 

SVSU was also awarded the 2009 GLIAC Community Engagement Award for its CYD program. The CYD program will be returning for its third year starting in fall of 2010.  For additional information, please visit http://athletics.svsu.edu/Community/CYD_Page_With_Photos.  2010 Youth Days are slated for October 9, 16, and December 11, 2010, January 8 & 22, 2011.