Devils making a difference

The semester is but one month old and already members of Fredonia's athletics teams have been making a difference in the Dunkirk-Fredonia community.

Here are updates on three projects already undertaken by the Blue Devils:

Cancer Awareness Day/Various Teams -  A joint project bringing together four Blue Devil teams to draw attention to ovarian and prostate cancer was held Sept. 10, as part of the Blue Devil/Clarion Hotel Classic. Through basket and 50-50 raffles, plus gate receipts, the men's and women's soccer teams -   with the assistance of women's lacrosse and softball teams - raised $1,882. That plus an anticipated $1,500 check from Lake Shore Savings and Loan will up the ante to $3,382 and will run the two-year total to $6,540 -  $3,000 of it from Lake Shore Savings. "I just want to thank everyone involved with this year's event," event organizer Mike Kozlowski said. It is very much appreciated." A check presentation with Team Cure, a fundraising branch for Buffalo's Roswell Park Cancer Institute, will take place in the spring.

Senior Work Day/Men’s Ice Hockey -  On the same day of Cancer Awareness Day, members of the Blue Devil Men's Hockey team did yard work at the homes of several senior citizens. It was the seventh year the team has performed the community project - cutting lawns, trimming hedges, painting fences and the like.

Beach Clean Up/Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving -  The men and women of the water recently took the water's edge, specifically, Dunkirk's Wright Park Beach on the Lake Erie shoreline, and hauled away 1,151 cigarette butts, 1,608 plastic pieces, 77 bottle caps, 26 metal pieces, 39 glass pieces, 267 Styrofoam pieces, 126 miscellaneous items, 17 footwear items, 58 paper items, three plastic chairs and a tire.