Lions varsity student-athletes came together in a big way to make the holiday season a special one for six local families as part of the Christmas Adopt-a-Family program.
 
Led by fifth-year track and field standout Tracey Edwards, third-year rugby player Tobi Owotomo and the York Sport Council, the Lions collected more than $5,000 and hundreds of dollars in gift donations for six families from the Jane and Finch community. In addition to taking care of all the gifts on the children's wish lists, the Lions also collected money and donations to help the families with their basic needs such as warm jackets, hats, gloves and bedding.
 
"We are very excited to be celebrating our third year taking part in this program," said Owotomo. "It feels good to know we can make a difference in our community and help out these families. We plan to keep the tradition going in the coming years so we can continue to share our Lion Pride with local families and bring joy to them at this time of year."
 
The large donation was made possible thanks to representatives from each varsity team that helped with the collection, including Nana Adu-Poku (men's basketball), Katrina Collins-Samuels (women's basketball), Courtney Davis (women's soccer), Mimi Demski (women's volleyball), Alex Fotinos (men's hockey), Heather Hills (tennis), Andrew Jones (volleyball), Malik Langston (football), Caitlin Lee (hockey), Alexandria Town (wrestling) and Sara Vollmerhausen (field hockey).