When the 2010 America East Men's and Women's Basketball Championship presented by Newman's Own comes to campus next week, the players on the court won't be the only ones competing.

The University of Hartford chapter of Best Buddies is going up against student community service organizations from the eight other America East Conference schools in hopes of winning the first-ever Newman's Own Foundation Campus Community Service Challenge.

One student group from each of the America East's nine member universities will participate on behalf of its affiliated nonprofit for the top grant of $25,000. Second- and third-place finishers will receive $15,000 and $10,000 respectively. Six nonprofits will each receive a $5,000 grant from Newman's Own Foundation.

The student group representing the University of Hartford is University of Hartford Best Buddies, on behalf of Best Buddies Connecticut.  Among its many programs, Best Buddies pairs individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in one-to-one friendships with college students.

The final grant decisions will be made based on:

- The level of the student group's involvement with its affiliated nonprofit, and the degree to which that involvement reflects Paul Newman's philanthropic spirit of creativity and commitment.

- The actual mission and programs of the nonprofit, the populations and purposes it serves, and the impact the Foundation's grant will have on it.

"Paul Newman believed that giving back is the greatest opportunity and responsibility for making the world a better place," said Bob Forrester '66, president and CEO of Newman's Own Foundation. Forrester also is a generous supporter, regent, and alumnus of the University of Hartford. "Continuing his philanthropic legacy, Newman's Own Foundation is proud to support the ideas, work, and partners of these exemplary student groups, who are making a difference in their communities today and who will continue to lead long after their university days."

The other schools in the America East Conference are: the University at Albany; Binghamton University; Boston University; University of Maine; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; University of New Hampshire; Stony Brook University; and University of Vermont. To find out which student groups and affiliated nonprofits are competing from those schools, visit http://newmansownfoundation.org/competition.

For more information, contact Matt Blocker, director of the Center for Community Service, at blocker@hartford.edu or 860.768.5409.