IRVINE, Calif. – The Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) raised more than $21,000 to finish the seventh annual Big West Coin Drive with the second-highest total in the fundraiser’s history.

The Coin Drive, which takes place each February, unfolds on the nine conference campuses with the respective SAAC’s collecting coins for a designated charity.

For the second straight year, Hawai’i raised the most money with $7,595.91 going to the Hawaii Chapter of the American Cancer Society.  In addition to that sum, each of the remaining eight conference institutions will donate 25 percent of their totals to UH’s charity.

The Big West Coin Drive surpassed the $100,000 mark this year.  The seven-year aggregate for the fundraiser is $114,601.12.  This year’s total of $21,564.00 is second only to the record-breaking $36,271.76 raised in 2013.

UC Irvine totaled over $4,100 for the second year in a row to finish second among the membership.  Long Beach State ($2,596.08) and UC Santa Barbara ($1,712.00) established single-year school records for money collected.

“Once again the Big West Student Athlete Advisory Committee did an outstanding job in making the Coin Drive a big success,” said Big West Conference Commissioner Dennis Farrell.  “It is particularly noteworthy that this fundraiser now has eclipsed the $100,000 threshold, which is a testament to all the hard work that these individuals have put in over the years.”

Each of the nine Big West SAAC’s donated to a wide variety of charities.  Those charities include: CURE International (Cal Poly); Orangewood Children’s Foundation (Cal State Fullerton); 100 Citizens Community Fitness Program (Cal State Northridge); Wounded Warrior (Long Beach State); Cal Aggie Camp (UC Davis); UCI Medical Center-Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (UC Irvine); UNICEF (UC Riverside); and Best Day Foundation (UC Santa Barbara).

7TH ANNUAL BIG WEST COIN DRIVE FINAL SCORE BOARD (2014)

School, Charity, Money Raised
Hawai’i, Hawaii Chapter of the American Cancer Society, $7,595.91

UC Irvine, UCI Medical Center-Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, $4,101.20

Long Beach State, Wounded Warrior, $2,596.08

UC Santa Barbara, Best Day Foundation, $1,712.00
Cal Poly, CURE International (SLO), $1,547.06

Cal State Fullerton, Orangewood Children’s Foundation, $1,508.04

UC Davis, Cal Aggie Camp, $1,414.04

UC Riverside, UNICEF, $616.24

Cal State Northridge, 100 Citizens Community Fitness Program, $473.43

Totals, $21,564.00