Stepping Up to the Plate Mitchell Salvino ’23 is spearheading a fundraiser with his W&L baseball teammates to benefit the Angel Fund.

By Amanda Minix
March 22, 2022

“This is truly a team effort that the whole W&L community can get behind, and one that I hope will continue long after I graduate.”

~Mitchell Salvino ’23

W&L baseball centerfielder Mitchell Salvino ’23 hopes to knock it out of the park this year in regards to a fundraiser the team is organizing to benefit the Angel Fund, which provides emergency financial support to current students.

Salvino presented the idea first to Head Coach Ted White, who agreed that supporting the Angel Fund would be an impactful effort for the team. From March 21 through April 6, the baseball team will be selling short- and long-sleeved shirts sporting a unique logo created in partnership with Vineyard Vines, and all proceeds will benefit W&L’s student emergency fund. Shirts will cost $25 each. Those interested should enter their shirt size in the comments section of the Paypal donation form or email Salvino.

“This is truly a team effort that the whole W&L community can get behind, and one that I hope will continue long after I graduate,” Salvino said.

White is proud of the baseball team’s effort and of Salvino’s leadership. “I get to work with the best group of young men on this campus,” White said. “They were all 100% in on using our time and energy to make this fundraiser the best it can be.”

Salvino is no stranger when it comes to fundraising. He jumped in at W&L last year, getting the baseball team involved in a COVID-19 relief effort benefiting Rockbridge Area Relief Association. Prior to coming to W&L, he and his brother Matthew launched Cougars 4 a Cure at Charlotte Catholic High School. The brothers were inspired to lead the effort after their mother was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2012. Along with their basketball teammates, they raised more than $180,000 to support cancer research at the Levine Cancer Institute.

With a keen interest in giving back, Salvino joined the Development Ambassadors this year, a student organization devoted to philanthropy education. Participants meet with University Development staff to learn more about philanthropy, especially annual giving and how it impacts W&L. “It fell right into my wheelhouse, and I wanted to be a part of it,” he said.

Salvino’s interest in philanthropy was sparked first by his father and then fostered by his brother and the rest of his family. “My dad encouraged us to get involved in our community, and we volunteered by serving food to underserved families in Charlotte,” he said. “He is the reason my family is so passionate about helping others and giving back.”

Dean for Diversity, Inclusion and Student Engagement Tammy Futrell is excited that Salvino is spreading the word about the Angel Fund as well as encouraging support for it. “The Angel Fund has helped many students who have experienced financial challenges such as family emergencies or a death of a loved one that required arranging a flight home very quickly,” Futrell said. “I am moved that we have a student who recognizes the need for this program to assist his peers. What an inspiring and thoughtful young man.”

With shirts now on sale, Salvino hopes the team will reach its $20,000 goal, which is double what the team raised last year. “The guys are pretty excited to help out and have their own goals for selling hundreds of shirts, so I can’t wait to see what happens,” he said. “We know that the funds we raise will be put to great use.”

Salvino is an integrated engineering major and is minoring in data science. He received the Physics and Engineering Departmental Scholarship this year and plans to intern with the technology consulting firm Accenture this summer.