FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University athletic department is celebrating the holiday season by giving back to the local community. NSU student-athletes and athletic department staff members have contributed to three separate gift drives, donating several items to local families in need.
 
The NSU student-athlete advisory committee and its community engagement chair Cydney Niedermeyer (So., Fort Myers, Fla.) led an effort to collect gifts from all of NSU's athletic teams. The Sharks stepped up in a big way, with all 17 of NSU's teams, along with the cheerleading squad, donating to SAAC's drive.
 
The gift drive was so successful that the Sharks were able to make two separate donations. Baseball head coach Greg Brown and SAAC President Roberto Baroniel (Sr., Miami, Fla.) made the first gift dropoff with the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, Fla. This was the fifth straight year in which the baseball team has helped bring toys to the childrens hospital.
 
This past week, the women's basketball team stepped up and dropped the remaining toys off at the Jack and Jill Children's Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Jack & Jill Children's Center helps to break the cycle of poverty for children of low-income, working families in Broward County through family-oriented child care services and family intervention and support.
 
Finally, the NSU Athletic Department staff members match the student-athletes' efforts by adopting a family for the holiday. NSU staff members brought in gifts and wrapped them for a local family in need of help this holiday season. It was the second year in a row in which the department adopted a family.
 
NSU will continue to fulfill its commitment to the community, a core value of both NCAA Division II and Nova Southeastern University.