The UC Santa Barbara men’s and women’s basketball teams provided 52 local underprivileged children with a “Holiday Swishes and Baskets of Fun” shopping spree on Monday evening as part of the Athletic Department’s “Gauchos Give”community outreach program.
Working with the Page Youth Center and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara and Goleta, the teams spent the evening with the kids, who were given $100.00 shopping sprees at Kmart in Goleta.
“This is a great opportunity for our basketball programs to give back to a community that gives so much to us,” UCSB men’s head coach Bob Williams said. “Anytime we have a chance to positively affect the lives of kids, we need to.”
Said women’s head coach Lindsay Gottlieb, “We want our teams to get out and give back to a community that gives so much to us and also educate our student-athletes that there is something bigger out there. Coach Williams and I care about wins and losses but more importantly we care about the players being great people and role models for younger children.”
