Women's Basketball Delivers Holiday Cheer To Hospital With Help From Crimson & Blue Project

Dec. 20, 2011

Aishah Sutherland, Monica Engleman and Asia Boyd enjoyed time with a newborn baby girl during WBB annual hospital visit.

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Loaded up with carts of Kansas gear, the University of Kansas women’s basketball team brightened the holidays for patients at Lawrence Memorial Hospital Tuesday morning. For the 19^th-consecutive year, head coach Bonnie Henrickson and team members visited patients and distributed items collected during the “Crimson & Blue Holiday Project.”

“This is a really joyful time of the year for a lot of people but it’s a very difficult time of the year for some families,” said Henrickson. “The players enjoy this opportunity to put a smile on someone’s face and do what little we can to hand out some gear and Jayhawk love. When we walk away from this, all of us feel more fulfilled than anyone in here. I hope that we can give a feeling similar to the feeling we have when we leave.”

KU’s Trademark Licensing Office collected KU licensed product, including t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, pennants and team posters, from officially licensed vendors, who donate the product for the event each year. This year the licensees donated over 1,800 items with a retail value of approximately $21,000, according to Paul Vander Tuig, KU’s Trademark Licensing Director.

“It feels good to give to people who are in the hospital,” senior Aishah Sutherland said of the visit. “It’s nice to brighten their day and see them smile. It’s rewarding.”

The trademark licensing program collects fees and royalties from manufacturers authorized to use KU’s trademarks commercially. Royalties distributed from the program are used to fund student and student-athlete scholarships at KU.