WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – On Thursday, head coach Sharon Versyp and the Purdue women's basketball coaching staff visited the J.P. Lisack Community Food Pantry to give away free pizzas to visitors from the Lafayette, West Lafayette and surrounding communities.
In an effort to also support a local business, the staff purchased more than 500 vouchers from Arni's Pizza. The vouchers are redeemable for free pizza at any Lafayette location. Arni's owner Brad Cohen joined Versyp to distribute the free pizzas ahead of Mother's Day this weekend.
"In this unprecedented time, we all have to band together," Versyp said. "This pandemic has affected us all, and some more than others. This food bank provides an incredible service to those who have fallen on hard times, and we wanted to show our support for it by offering a free meal to one of Lafayette's most-treasured restaurants."
Thursday marked one of the first times that the coaching staff seen each other in-person since the end of March. The staff has regularly used Zoom to conduct video calls with players over the last few months, including several chats with various alumnae.
The Boilermakers have featured in the weekly "Catching Up" series to talk about the 2019-20 season, time away from campus and behind the scenes of the program.
Versyp, the all-time winningest coach in program history, returns for her 15th season at Purdue in 2020-21. The four-time Big Ten champion continues to find ways to serve the local community. In March, she was inducted into the YWCA of Greater Lafayette Hall of Fame at the Salute to Women Celebration for her selfless efforts to improve the lives of individuals throughout Indiana.
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