NEW HAVEN, Conn. – After a spirited competition among all intercollegiate programs at Southern Connecticut State University, the women's basketball team has been recognized as the winner of the Tim Greer Insurance Agency, Inc. Community Service Cup for the 2010-11 academic year. In addition, sophomore Paige Donlin (South Glastonbury, Conn.) has been named the winner of the inaugural individual Community Service Cup award.

The Tim Greer Insurance Agency, Inc. Community Service Cup provides a competitive format that allows student-athletes to gain an enriched experience through engagement with the on-campus and local communities by supporting ventures of traditional citizens, campus community members and peer students and student-athletes.

“I would like to congratulate the women's basketball team for claiming this year's Tim Greer Insurance Agency, Inc. Community Service Cup team award and Paige Donlin for capturing our inaugural individual Community Service Award,” Director of Athletics Patricia D. Nicol said. “These individuals have made community service a priority through their assistance at numerous events throughout the course of the year.

“In addition, I would like to thank all of our programs for serving as outstanding ambassadors for Southern Connecticut State University through extensive community service efforts. As a group, our student-athletes have volunteered approximately 3,000 hours of their time to community service causes this past year. I commend all of our coaches and student-athletes for their efforts.”

The women's basketball program assisted numerous programs, both on-campus and in Greater New Haven, during the 2010-11 academic year. The team helped with on-campus events such as Friends of Rudolph, The Big Event, Girls and Women in Sport Day and the National Bone Marrow Registry's 'Be The Match' initiative.

In addition, the team was also extremely active in academic tutoring and assistance programs with three New Haven schools – the Roberto Clemente, Beecher and Clinton Avenue schools. They also conducted clinics at the Clemente School and assisted at the Wallingford Boys' and Girls' Club's 'Sports Night' event. The team also completed service assistance for the American Cancer Society and took part in a food drive to benefit local families.

Donlin took time out to volunteer for an array of outreach efforts to earn recognition. She participated in weekly reading and tutoring programs at the Roberto Clemente and Clinton Avenue Schools in New Haven. She has also assisted with on-campus events such as Girls and Women in Sport Day and Southern Day of Service, as well as a bone marrow drive in support of the National Bone Marrow Registry's 'Be The Match' initiative. Donlin and her teammates also baked pies during the Thanksgiving holiday season for individuals at the Springfield (Mass.) Rescue Mission.

The team champion was determined through a scoring system that awards points based on the percentage of each team's roster that participates in an event. Student-athletes can earn points by a variety of means, including: participation in community service events (on or off campus), host pre- or post-game clinics and participation in campus events. The individual winner was selected through event participation throughout the course of the academic year.