AIC Baseball Steps Up to the Plate for Hunger Relief

The American International College (AIC) baseball team hit it out of the park with their annual canned food drive to benefit those in need this holiday season.

The team’s annual Home Run for the Hungry canned food drive wrapped up on Tuesday, December 3, with the delivery of hundreds of pounds of food to Square One in Springfield, and Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen and Pantry in Chicopee. The donations, collected by student-athletes, will support the work of these vital community organizations. Peter Pan Bus Lines donated a bus to transport the team and the donations to both nonprofits.

The student-athletes began the food collection in November with special fundraising events across campus. The team also worked in collaboration with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO) to share holiday cheer, organizing a donation table at their concert on Saturday, November 16. Donors were entered into a raffle to win four tickets to a future SSO concert. The team also collected monetary donations which the 58 student-athletes used to go grocery shopping to add to the final tally of food donations.

Congratulations to the team and head coach Nick Callini for your commitment to knocking hunger out of the park. AIC is proud of our student-athletes for their hard work and dedication on the field, in the classroom, and the community! See more in this news story on WWLP22News.

Special thanks to Peter Pan Bus Lines, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, the Batter’s Box, and Roots Gymnastics in Westfield for supporting this project.