Student-Athletes from Wisconsin-Platteville pose for a picture while student-athletes from CSI hold up a sign while at Guyon Rescue to thank UWP for their help.

After the devastation of Hurricane Sandy stories of sadness and heartbreak were prevalent.  Many other stories of the Staten Island community coming together and assisting those in need have surfaced as well, lending hope and inspiration in the wake of the aftermath.  The outreach has come from even further than Staten Island or even New York, and this holiday season, the folks at the College of Staten Island got a welcomed lift from a school nearly a thousand miles away when it received a several boxes of goods and a monetary donation from the University of Wisconsin at Platteville.

The random act of kindness by the Pioneers was rooted from the fall of 2012, when the CSI Soccer program hosted their first ever Fall Soccer Classic in which they invited teams from all over the USA, including both the women’s and men’s teams from UWP.

UWP women’s soccer Head Coach Allison Sanyi contacted the staff at CSI a few days after Hurricane Sandy touched the Island’s shores.  Upon hearing the news that the borough had been affected the way it had, and that several CSI student-athletes had lost their homes, Sanyi helped pioneer an effort to reach out to those in need.  Several weeks later, the effort picked up momentum, and all the teams at Wisconsin-Platteville got together and donated hundreds of pounds of cleaning supplies, school jackets and other clothing.  Alongside the massive delivery, the Pioneers Athletic Program made a monetary donation as well.

From there, CSI’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee assembled and delivered the donations to Guyon Rescue, a volunteer organization that is directly helping Staten Islander’s in the recovery process. The school’s hundreds of dollars in donations were given to the CSI Foundation Hurricane Sandy Emergency Relief Fund helping staff and students of the school suffering from aftermath of Sandy.  

CSI Assistant Sports Information Director Kellie Carnevale worked to assist Sanyi and the Pioneers crew in the donation effort, and was taken aback by the amount of aid that was offered from the small Wisconsin school.

“There are many people who will tell you they will be there for you but to actually go through with it and in such a huge effort is truly heartwarming and inspiring.”

This is just one of so many stories of help and hope going on through this time, on behalf of the College of Staten Island Athletics Staff and Students, we say thank you to Wisconsin-Platteville.