HILTON HEAD, S.C. -- The Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC) at North Georgia and Flagler have been honored with the 2009-10 PBC Make-A-Wish awards at the league's annual meetings in Hilton Head, S.C. North Georgia received the PBC's Most Funds Raised honor while Flagler won the league's Most Improved Award. For the 2009-10 academic year, the Peach Belt Conference as a whole remained among the most active conferences in NCAA Division II in giving to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

North Georgia raised $5,200 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation last year, leading the Peach Belt and finishing just ahead of Flagler, who raised $5,129. It is the second consecutive year that North Georgia has contribued over five thousand dollars to the Make-A-Wish fund, the only PBC school to reach that number for two straight years.

In their first year in the Peach Belt Conference, Flagler more than doubled the amount contributed to the program. The Saints raised over five thousand dollars for the year, more than three thousand better than they did last year. With the increase, Flagler wins the PBC's Most Improved Award.

For the second year in a row, charitable giving in the Peach Belt Conference reached the $20,000 mark.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Born in 1980 when a group of caring volunteers helped a young boy fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer, the Foundation is now the largest wish-granting charity in the world, with 66 chapters in the United States and its territories. With the help of generous donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants a wish every 40 minutes and has granted more than 171,000 wishes in the U.S. since inception. Make-A-Wish and NCAA Division II entered into a partnership in 2003.