Saga, Inc.. donated $5,000 to the basketball program at Hillsdale College Oct. 20.
Every year, the basketball program hosts a fundraising dinner. At the dinner, 250 raffle tickets, costing $100 each, are sold to benefit the program, said John Tharp, men’s basketball coach. He said that Saga bought three tickets this year.
Kevin Kirwan, General Manager of Saga, had the winning ticket of the night – the grand prize was $5,000.
Instead of keeping the money, however, Kirwan and his coworkers, Tim Morrison, President of Saga, and Marty Morrison, Saga Operations Manager, donated the $5,000 back to the basketball program.
“They have been incredibly generous to us over the years,” Tharp said. “They always buy three for four tickets and we were so excited for them.”
However, Tharp said it was within fifteen minutes that the Saga associates said they were going to give the money to the program.
“They were emotional giving it back and we were emotional receiving it. We are so thankful,” Tharp said. “They are a part of this college, they are proud to be affiliated with us, and they go above and beyond to provide a great experience for all of us.”
Kirwan said they had always planned to give the money back.
“[Giving back] – that’s what makes it fun to win,” Morrison said.
The money will go to the daily operation of what must be done for the basketball program, Tharp said.