Garden City, N.Y. - In a department-wide effort to help grant wishes for children with critical illnesses, Adelphi's 23 varsity programs will each host a 'Workout for Wishes' to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

More specifically, the Adelphi Department of Athletics has been paired with Erik -- a 19-year-old leukemia patient from Jamaica, Queens -- whose wish is to have a half-court basketball court of his own.

The goal of the department is to raise $5,000 to help make Erik's 'wish' come true.

"The Adelphi Department of Athletics has faced many challenges this year. Every year, our teams participate in raising money for a particular cause. This year, we are very excited to team up with Make-A-Wish," said Adelphi Business Manager and SAAC Advisor Brittany Cullinane.

"Erik has overcome many hurdles and 'Workout for Wishes' shows our student-athletes that no matter what challenges they face, they will always be able to adapt and find a way to push through them," Cullinane continued.

Each team will obtain a sponsor, and in March, conduct a specific drill at practice, in which the donation will equal the number of repetitions completed.

For example -- if 100 goals are scored by the field hockey team at its workout and the team receives a commitment of $1 per goal for every goal scored, the donation would be $100. Supporters can also pledge a flat fee to support the team of their choice. All pledges per workout must be coordinated with a team member, and ultimately given online via the Adelphi Athletics Make-A-Wish donation page. 

"Workout for Wishes is a great fundraising opportunity for a great cause. It's an amazing way to show our support for the brave kids who are fighting critical illnesses and diseases. We all want to do our part to help grant wishes," Adelphi SAAC President Jackie Brown said.

"I am looking forward to see all the good we do, by not only improving our skills, but to raise awareness for Make-A-Wish during these challenging times."