Coach Anne Donovan and the Seton Hall women's basketball team will be adding players and granting wishes for their game against DePaul.
On Jan. 28, Donovan and the Pirates will help several young women an opportunity that they would not often dream of – the chance to be Pirates for a day.
One Simple Wish, the organization that is partnering with the Pirates, aims to brighten the lives of foster children and vulnerable families by helping to grant simple wishes.
According to Danielle Gletow, founder and executive director of One Simple Wish, several young women will join Donovan and the Pirates for game-day festivities before the 2 p.m. tip-off against DePaul.
"One Simple Wish is bringing between five and 10 girls, ages 8-12, to the game early so they can practice a bit with the team and enjoy a meal," Gletow said. "The team also plans to acknowledge the girls during the game itself, so it should be really exciting for them."
According to Gletow, Donovan reached out to the organization after reading about it in the Star-Ledger. Interested in getting the team involved, she met with Gletow to brainstorm ideas for the upcoming year.
"I became aware of One Simple Wish and Director Danielle Gletow last winter and immediately wanted to connect our program with her organization," Donovan said in a statement. "It is my hope that our Pirate women can connect with some of these kids, that our program can help make a difference through our partnership."
Alexis Brown, a freshman guard with the Pirates, said that Donovan told senior Brittany Morris, who notified the rest of the team about the partnership with One Simple Wish.
"I actually thought it was great because we have a lot of stuff now that we don't necessarily use all the time, so to give back to somebody that is less fortunate than us…I think it's great," Brown said.
Brown also added that she has already gotten a sense of not taking things for granted out of the experience thus far.
"You never know if someone will be as generous to give you something back," Brown said.
Gletow, a Seton Hall alumnas, said she was flattered that "someone with a career as impressive as hers (Donovan's) thought that the work we were doing was inspiring.
"She was so kind and so complimentary of our work," Gletow said. "I was really excited she wanted to get the team involved…it meant a lot to me personally."
One Simple Wish serves many victims of homelessness, poverty, abuse and neglect, according to Gletow. Through the partnership, Seton Hall will help grant a handful of wishes to add to the organization's goal to grant at least 1,000 wishes per year, Gletow said.
In addition to the chosen girls practicing and dining with the team, One Simple Wish will be onsite to collect personal care items and other donations to help…make care kits and continue…work supporting kids in need.
Gletow added that most of the girls are in foster care or come from very-low-income families or families who have experienced hardships.
In her statement, Donovan highlighted the mission of One Simple Wish and its "passionate mission to help young people" – recognition that Gletow said is exciting.
"When a great organization like Seton Hall athletics that has national recognition and a wonderful reputation gets behind our cause, it says a lot about our work," Gletow said.
Gletow added that, based on her experience so far with Donovan and the Pirates, she would definitely welcome the team's continued support for the organization.
"We hope it inspires others to find out more about us and about how they support kids in foster care and those transitioning out," Gletow said.
Samantha Desmond can be reached at samantha.desmond@ student.shu.edu.
