By: Time Wilmes ~Staff Writer~

Xavier University student athletes presented over $5,000 to a six-year-old boy through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Landyn, the recipient of the donation, suffers from spina bifida and he and his family will put the money toward achieving his wish to go to Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

The money was raised through the Student Athlete Activities Committee (SAAC) as a partner with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to make Landyn’s wish come true.

Make-A-Wish works to provide children with life-threatening illnesses one “wish,” like Landyn’s trip to Disney World.

Student athletes spent two weeks collecting donations for the cause and by the end of the campaign, the committee collected more than double their initial goal of $2,200.

The money was presented to Landyn and his family at the men’s basketball game against Providence on Feb. 8 at Cintas Center.

After the game, senior Ariel McNair from the women’s golf team gave the family a tour of the arena, followed by a visit to the postgame press conference in which Landyn got to meet SAAC president and men’s basketball junior center Matt Stainbrook.

Track & Field senior Adrija Taraska, who helped organize the fundraiser with junior midfielder Katie Schweer of the women’s soccer team, was incredibly pleased with the outcome of the event.

“We had such a huge amount of support from the student body as well as at the game and we could not have made this happen, Landyn’s wish happen, without them,” Taraska said.

Not only was the experience meaningful for the family receiving the donation, but the fundraiser and event at the game were clearly impactful for the student athletes who partook in the experience.

“As Xavier student athletes, we’ve been given so much and the opportunities that we have are unreal, so it’s really all we can do to give back a little bit of our time, a little bit of our effort,” McNair told goxavier.com of her experience with Landyn.

As a result of the willingness of Xavier student athletes to be charitable with their time and the Xavier community’s donations, a little boy’s wish will come true as he gets to experience a carefree day at Disney World.