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The University of North Georgia (Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û) athletic teams raised more money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation than any other NCAA Division II school in 2017-18, marking the third-straight year the school has been the Division II leader.

Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û's $31,875 sent to the Make-A-Wish Foundation accounted for more than half of the $52,406.92 raised by the entire Peach Belt Conference (PBC). It was also more than $18,000 higher than the next-closest school, as Lindenwood University raised $13,102.22. The PBC's amount raised was second-best out 24 Division II conferences.

Make-A-Wish is a nonprofit organization that arranges experiences described as "wishes" to children with life-threatening medical conditions.

"Our student-athletes have invested in the Make-A-Wish partnership with the same commitment that they represent Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û in the arena of competition," Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û Director of Athletics Lindsay Reeves said. "The benefit of their hard work with this initiative is visible on the faces of the Make-A-Wish children who we are afforded the privilege of hosting each year."

Nigel's Run With Superheroes 5K/Fun Run, which caps Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û's 2018-19 Make-A-Wish initiative, is held in the spring, but a date is not yet set.

Since 2010, Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û has raised more than $164,000 for Make-A-Wish, including at least $10,000 every year since 2010-11. Those donations have accounted for more than 16 wishes being granted through the efforts of Nighthawk Nation.

Since the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) established the partnership with Make-A-Wish in 2003, the division has raised more than $5.7 million for the nonprofit. Those funds have been used to grant wishes to more than 660 children across the country.
The alliance with Make-A-Wish provides student-athletes the opportunity to see their hard work pay off. SAAC continued a model adopted three years ago in which money collected from championship and enforcement fines are added to institutional fundraising, so institutions have the opportunity to host a wish reveal party on campus.

In 2017-18, nine schools raised more than $10,000 — the national average cost of a wish reveal — and automatically earned a wish reveal party. Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û has hosted six consecutive Make-A-Wish events on campus and will host a seventh this school year.

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