NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- As we continue to celebrate the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin's (CCIW) 75th anniversary in 2020-21, the conference will recognize the great work of our student-athlete through the 75 Acts of Kindness campaign. 

While COVID-19 poses many challenges for our conference members, our student-athletes are committed to continuing to give back to their communities. 

CCIW institutions will report on their various Acts of Kindness throughout the year with the goal of each athletics department performing at least 75 Acts of Kindness. This can include, but are not limited to, community service events like a canned food or clothing drive, volunteering to spend time virtually with local schools, or an event with an organization like Special Olympics. Additionally, student-athletes can also report on any community service activities they do on their own.

The conference will recognize these Acts of Kindness through April when institutions are recognized during the CCIW's end-of-year Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) meeting.

Here is a summary of our student-athlete's progress:

November 2020 Report

75 Acts of Kindness Report (December 2020)

Augustana
On Halloween, 16 members of the Augustana College softball team donated and completed a Halloween-themed virtual 5k to support Empower House: Brain Injury Clubhouse of the Quad Cities. Empower House is a day program that serves adult survivors of brain injury, and is the only clubhouse in the state of Iowa. The clubhouse is a place where members can gather and work together to do tasks like preparing a meal, maintenance work and simple business tasks.



Elmhurst
The Elmhurst women's lacrosse team wrote letters and holiday cards to troops overseas through a 501(c)3 called Support Our Troops. Handmade cards will be distributed to service men and women overseas who are unable to be home for the holidays.



Illinois Wesleyan
Since Illinois Wesleyan could not do its usual department-wide Trick-or-Treat for Canned Goods this year, about 25 of the athletics department's SAAC reps planned a virtual 5K to raise money for Center for Hope food pantry, who usually receives the collected canned food donations. SAAC raised over $2,000 for the food pantry through registration fees and sponsorships from local businesses. In addition to community participation, about 90 student-athletes officially registered for the 5k, and at least that many more ran it with their teams.



North Central
The North Central women's lacrosse team made door decorations for nursing homes for the holiday season. Since nursing homes are not allowing visitors during COVID, the team chose to do this as a special gesture for local nursing homes.

Four North Central women's lacrosse student-athletes went to Feed My Starving Children and packed boxes of food for less fortunate children all around the world. 

North Central women's lacrosse student-athlete Abby Widd volunteered for Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools and created a college committee to help unite colleges who participate in Special Olympics on campus. 




75 Acts of Kindness Totals (as of December 2020)
 

Institution	Acts of Kindness Total
Millikin	55
Elmhurst	54
Illinois Wesleyan	43
Carthage	35
North Central	17
Augustana	16

The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carroll University (Waukesha, WI), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL).