As the holidays draw near, many Villanova fans will be preparing for their festivities in a variety of ways. Many teams from the Wildcat family took some time to give back to local institutions to get into the holiday spirit.

"It's really important for us as a student-athlete community to give back at the holidays," said Student Services Coordinator Allison Venella. "We are so blessed with talent, opportunity and experiences that being able to volunteer our time and enthusiasm or buy gifts for those less fortunate is a small way to express our gratitude at the holidays!"

The baseball team spread some holiday cheer at the St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in early December. The team spent time in the children's ward playing video games, doing crafts and taking part in a nice game of catch.

"It is all about taking them away from their daily activities in the hospital and giving their parents some much needed relief and time off," said junior first baseman Max Beermann.

The women's swimming and diving team took some time from the pool and jumped into the holiday cheer-giving while volunteering at CityTeam Chester in mid-December by delivering Adopt-A-Family gifts for 18 children adopted by various Villanova Athletic teams.

"Last Friday was our team's service activity for the month. We all donated a small toy so we delivered those and the rest of the athletic teams' donations to CityTeam Chester," said senior Sara Jurek. "We also stayed for an hour or two to help them with organizing the gifts and wrapping them. We think it's a great way to give back to the community, even in a small way, as well as make the holiday season a little brighter for those who don't have the same opportunities as us."

Other teams that took part in spreading the holiday cheer for all to hear were the women's soccer team and the men's basketball team who volunteered at the at the annual North Light Community Center Holiday Party, hosted by Villanova University in early December.