UTICA, NY – In the spirit of the holidays, the SUNYIT men's and women's swimming team decided to help serve the community by visiting the Pathfinder Village and help make gingerbread houses for Christmas during finals week last month.

Pathfinder Village, which is a residential community dedicated to serving individuals who have Down syndrome, hosts an annual Gingerbread House Workshop to create "edible architecture" and enjoy company with family and friends.  Meg Schlegel, mother of junior swimmer Katie Schlegel (Baldwinsville, NY/Morrisville State) and former director of the Pathfinder Village, coordinates the event each year and makes both the gingerbread houses and icing from scratch.  Since her daughter transferred to SUNYIT this past year, Meg thought it would be a great idea for Katie to bring her swimming teammates along with her this holiday season.

"This is my second year doing gingerbread houses at Pathfinder and my mom and I felt that it would be a great experience to share with my teammates to get in the holiday spirit," Katie explained.  "I also brought my field hockey teammates from Morrisville State last year and it was a great success.  The kids always look forward to it and it is a lot of fun for them and for my teammates and I as well."

"I was so impressed with Katie's initiative to involve her teammates in this event," said head SUNYIT swimming coach Sue Brumm.  "They were all very excited to take part and had a lot of fun with everyone at Pathfinder Village.  It was a great way to kick off the holiday season and take a break from the stress of finals."

The men's and women's swimming team will both be back in action when they travel to participate in the NEAC Championships, with the three-day event being hosted by SUNY Cobleskill on February 18, 19 and 20.

For more information on the Pathfinder Village, please visit: http://www.pathfindervillagestories.org/.