The Sage Colleges Athletic Department served as the home for a number of children from the local South Troy community this summer.

The program was the brainchild of Marion Field, the Little Italy Neighborhood Association, Davia and Aaron Collington, representing the Troy Police Athletic League. The focus of the program was to give South Troy teens a safe, summer athletic alternative.

The program was supervised by Officer Aaron Collington with a number of volunteers that also included Troy High School Baseball Coach Curtis Nobles. Meals for provided for the attendees by Rensselaer County, while The Sage Colleges provided the facilities for the five-week camp at the Neff Athletic Center and the Robison Softball Field, all free of charge. This enabled the campers to participate in basketball, volleyball, softball and baseball as well as arts and crafts as well as such activities as "Guitar Hero?" competitions.

This important initiative for The Sage Colleges as well as the athletic department stressed the importance of the local community to the college. An average of 20 campers attended the event daily and after a successful first event, which was made possible through the cooperation of the Sage Athletic Department with the support of athletic director, Dani Drews. Drews added that she is hoping this will become an annual event.

Along with the PAL, other community sponsors of the summer baseball program included the South Central Neighborhood Association, Rensselaer County Unified Services and Cahill' Sporting Goods.