The Virginia Union University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Community Wellness held it's annual student-athlete awards banquet on Thursday, April 20, at the Dr. Claude G. Perkins Living & Learning Center on the VUU campus in Richmond, Va.

The theme of this year's banquet was "Stronger Together". Stronger together was about impact, selflessness, and teamwork within the community. Each team was designated a specific color that represented a specific cause of cancer. 

Causes of cancer included skin cancer, lupus, brain cancer, childhood cancer, and more. 

Student-athlete and Virginia Union University Student-Athlete Advisory Council President Charm Browne stated "The theme was very thoughtful and it showed that IACW athletics strives to be bigger than themselves.". 

A whole month before the banquet, teams were informed of their cause and were encouraged to raise funds to donate to their specific cause. On the day of the banquet, all funds were totaled from each team individually, then the team with the most funds raised would ultimately end up winning the "Stronger Together" award and all money raised would go to that team's cause. 

The award was presented to the team that showed a significant contribution of selflessness to their community. Ultimately, men's Track and Field and men's cross country raised the most funds and was awarded the award for their contributions and efforts towards impact. There was a donation of $1,000 dollars sent to the National Skin Cancer Foundation in New York to go towards their support in research, and efforts to support skin cancer patients.

"The IACW administration is extremely proud of our student-athletes for their efforts and support of research for these national causes," said VUU IACW Vice-President Joe Taylor.  "This goes beyond community service and truly speaks to their compassion for our society.  To be a champion on game day, you must practice being a champion every day.  Congratulations and go Panthers!"