Senior swimmers Maritza Mestre (left) and Sian Best display the donation box for their team's drive on behalf of the Center for Women in Transition. Uni and Urbana swimmers are joining forces to help the center. Gargoyle photo by Stephanie Overmier (click to enlarge)

URBANA — Wednesday afternoon the Uni High girls swim team will compete against Urbana High School at the Urbana Indoor Aquatic Center at 4:30.

This is our annual charity meet, and contributions this year will go to the Center for Women in Transition.

Donations for the organization will be accepted at the meet, but are also being collected in boxes on the first floor of Uni through this Friday.

The "Make a Difference Meet" has been going on for the past seven years and is focused on helping a local charity.

Last year's fundrasier was geared toward helping the Crisis Nursery, and two years ago it was also dedicated toward the Center for Women in Transition.

Lisa Sechler, mother of sophomore swimer Amalia Dolan, is coordinating this year's program.

Working with Urbana High on the "Make a Difference Meet" is always a wonderful experience. They're a great group of girls, and the atmosphere at our dual meet is a very friendly one.

I would really encourage everyone to donate items to the fundraiser. The charity aspect of the meet helps make it feel more community-like and purposeful, and we would love to have a strong donation to give to the Center for Women in Transition.

WISH LIST of Items for Center for Women in Transition

General List

• Gift cards — Wal-Mart, Walgreens, CVS, etc. (good for helping pay for prescriptions and miscellaneous supplies)
• Stamps
• Bus tokens
• Trash bags
• Light bulbs — energy efficient
• Printer cartridges — HP 12 A, Lexmark black No. 50, Lexmark color No. 20
• White and colored printer paper
• Vacuum cleaners — bagless and heavy duty
• Gift cards for gas
• Pillows
• Over-the-counter medications — cold and flu, pain reliever
• Kleenex
• Disinfectant wipes
• Toilet paper
• Bras and underwear — various sizes, new
• Personal-care products — hair accessories, shampoo/conditioner, body wash, blow dryer/straightener/curling iron, etc., including products for African-American hair
• Cleaning supplies — sponges, dishrags, etc.
• Dishwashing detergent — both for dishwasher and liquid for washing by hand
• Laundry detergent, fabric softener
• Twin-sheet sets
• Towel sets

Children’s Program Wish List

• Three small TV/DVD combos — for each playroom
• Learning wall accessories
• Variety of storage bins
• Videos and DVDs (educational/entertainment—all ages)
• Arts & Crafts — jewelry making, painting station, journals, stencils, etc.
• Playdough and plastic placemats for using it
• Small CD player w/ age-appropriate CDs
• Diapers
• Infant formula — Enfamil
• Car seats — infant, booster, convertible
• Nintendo Wii
• Nintendo DS and a couple games
• Harry Potter books
• Young adult series books (culturally diverse)
• Spit-up blankets
• Infant toys
• Large Dry Erase Board for wall
• Play food
• Dress-up clothes/accessories and bin
• Construction paper
• Scissors — for children, also craft scissors with fun designs
• Juice boxes — 100 percent juice