UTICA, NY – The SUNYIT women's soccer team held its first Ronald McDonald House Bowl-A-Thon at Utica's Pin-O-Rama this past Thursday and the event was a great success, as the Lady Wildcats raised hundreds of dollars at the event that will benefit multiple families and children in Central New York.

The team collected pledge donations before the event, which could have been made in the form of a certain amount per pin or one flat contribution, and a total of $871.30 was raised.  It was the most money ever raised by head coach Tyler Renaud in the many years he has been involved with the charity.

"My teams have been involved with the Ronald McDonald House Charities for five years now and this is the highest amount ever raised, and it will all go towards a great cause," said Renaud.  "My three assistant coaches – Erin Schurr, Don Jaynes and Kevin Conway – and I are proud of the ladies in their effort to make this a great cause and a fun event for all who participated." 

"I think it is important to recognize Pin-O-Rama for providing free bowling for our students," explained Renaud.  "It was a great community service project that involved a lot of laughs and actually had some solid bowling from a handful of our young ladies.  The event will certainly boast our team chemistry for our upcoming spring season and the 2011 regular season."

The mission of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York is to create, identify, and support programs that directly improve the health and well being of children and families in Central New York and Northern Pennsylvania.  For more information on the organization, please visit its website by clicking here.