UMO TO HOST “WISH REVEAL” FOR MAKE-A-WISH
UNIVERSITY OF MOUNT OLIVE TO HOST “WISH REVEAL” FOR MAKE-A-WISH® EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA AT SATURDAY’S MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME; SATURDAY’S WOMEN’S/MEN’S BASKETBALL DOUBLEHEADER TO BE NATIONALLY TELEVISED
MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – University of Mount Olive is proud to host a “Wish Reveal” for Make-A-Wish® Eastern North Carolina Saturday during halftime of the Trojans’ nationally televised men’s basketball game against Limestone College. Tip-off is 6 p.m. at Kornegay Arena.
Saturday’s wish reveal is for “Isabella,” a seven-year-old from Goldsboro, N.C. Isabella’s wish is to take a trip to Hawaii with her family. At the Reveal, she’ll find out the date that her wish will come true and she’ll go to Hawaii with her family.
Isabella – who goes by Izzy – was diagnosed with leukemia in 2013.
Mount Olive is among a select number of NCAA Division II schools hosting a wish reveal. NCAA Division II has been a sponsor of Make-A-Wish® since 2003 and Division II institutions, including Mount Olive, have combined to raise more than $4 million for Make-A-Wish® since the inception of the alliance.
The Trojan Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) has been the top Make-A-Wish® fundraiser among Conference Carolinas schools in each of the last two years, raising a combined total of just under $6,000 for Make-A-Wish® Eastern North Carolina in the last two years. Mount Olive’s total in the past two years has accounted for nearly a third of the overall total raised by the conference.
Saturday’s men’s basketball game, along with the Trojans’ women’s basketball game against Limestone at 4 p.m., will be televised nationally on American Sports Network (ASN). The doubleheader is part of ASN’s Division II National Showcase. (Locally, the games will air on WRDC-TV 28 in Raleigh-Durham. Check local listings for other broadcast and cable channels airing the games.)
The games mark the first live sports telecasts to originate from the University of Mount Olive campus. Both the Trojan men’s and women’s basketball teams have played contests on national television. UMO men’s basketball games at Barton in 2008 and at King last January were televised on CBS Sports Network. The Trojan women’s basketball game at Limestone in 2011 also aired on CBS Sports Network.
UMO Associate Director of Athletics and SAAC Advisor LaToya Lindsey is looking forward to hosting the wish reveal Saturday.
“We’re excited to host the wish reveal this Saturday at University of Mount Olive,” said Lindsey. “It’s nice to see that the money that the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has raised and the local community has donated over the years is going to a good cause for Make-A-Wish® and it’s exciting to get to see in person a child’s wish come true. We look forward to meeting Isabella and her family and let them know about their Hawaii trip.”
Make-A-Wish® Eastern North Carolina grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. Founded in 1986, the chapter serves all medically eligible children who reside in the 49 counties east of the Orange/Alamance county line. The chapter operates solely through generous donations of individuals, corporations and foundations. With the help of more than 200 volunteers, including its Board of Directors, Make-A-Wish® Eastern North Carolina has granted more than 3,100 wishes since its inception. More information is available through www.eastnc.wish.org.