Throughout his five-year career with the UNBC Timberwolves, Francesco Bartolillo was a star on the soccer field.
His six goals and 10 points this season were team highs and in those five years his ability to put the ball in the net made him the all-time leading goal scorer in team history with 16. He collected 25 career points – second on the T-wolves’ list.
As creative as he was on the field making the T-wolves a better team, the 23-year-old business major went beyond the call of duty to make lives of Prince George people better. For his work on those initiatives, Bartolillo has been chosen for the Canada West Conference student-athlete community service award.
The Calgary native, a four-time Academic All-Canadian, is the founder of the Timberwolves Student Athlete Society and has raised close to $20,000 for various causes. To collect money for KidSport BC, which enables underprivileged youth to play sports, he started a soccer-style two-on-two tournament which makes use of a tennis net as an obstacle while players use their feet and heads to keep the ball from touching the ground.
Last year he developed the MVP of the Month, a program which annually benefits a young cancer patient. Bartolillo organized fundraising events such as the Fill the Bus Bottle Drive and the TSAS Flag Football Tournament to create public awareness and generate funds for the program, which has raised more than $10,000 in its two-year existence. He also donates his time as a youth soccer coach.
“Fran’s contribution to the Timberwolves, the university, and the city of Prince George is admirable and deserves recognition,” said T-wolves head coach Steve Simonson. “His on-field actions speak for themselves, but his selfless actions off the field for his fellow athletes, and members of the community is why he is truly a successful student-athlete at UNBC.
“The MVP of the Month and other community initiatives that Fran has led, and what they mean to the families involved, far outweighs anything that happens on the soccer field.”
He is now a candidate for the U Sports national award for community service, which will be announced during the men’s nationals next weekend in Vancouver.
