On Friday, Sept. 25, the "Canisius Cares" program made its first stop of the year when senior men's basketball player Frank Turner and the Petey the Golden Griffin visited Gilmore Elementary School in North Tonawanda, N.Y. In it's first year, the "Canisius Cares" program is a partnership between the Canisius athletic department and schools throughout Western New York, geared toward providing school visits and game tickets to students from all grade levels that are being recognized for their admirable behavior, their strides in the direction of academic success and their personal commitment toward making responsible choices.

Turner spoke to the students at Gilmore Elementary in conjunction with the school's Bullyproof Program and Petey was on hand with members of the athletic department's marketing staff to distribute ticket vouchers to future hockey, men and women's basketball home games.

"I would like to express my gratitude for your recent visitation and reinforcement of our school-wide Bullyproof Program," Gilmore principal Patrick Holesko said. "We enjoyed the visitation and our students truly enjoyed the interactions with the Canisius mascot and their discussion with Frank Turner.  As a graduate of Canisius College, I was thrilled to have the opportunity for Canisius athletics to come out and visit us and help reinforce our character building efforts.

To learn more about the "Canisius Cares" Program, click on this link, or call Shauna Tolin at (716) 888-2885.