LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Siena Athletics has partnered with longtime sponsor KeyBank to help launch KeyBank Assists, a multifaceted campaign focused on supporting small businesses, charities, and consumers during these challenging times. Siena Basketball legend Tay Fisher ’08 has been selected to represent Siena as the campaign’s local social media influencer in the Capital Region, and KeyBank will make a $5,000 donation on his behalf to Tay Fisher’s Community Cornerstone, while also making additional donations of $6,250 each to Capital Roots and Equinox.

The KeyBank Assists program was launched to help ease people’s stress and bring some happiness to support their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now in its third phase, the KeyBank Assists program gives donations, meals, and surprise gifts to small businesses and families. KeyBank Assists has donated more than $550,000 to their communities while supporting more than 38 charities and 105 small businesses. The program gave gift cards to thousands of families, essential workers, and first responders, while also providing thousands of meals.

The third KeyBank Assists launched today featuring national social influencer Soledad O’Brien, to help bring attention to the program and be a great ambassador for the campaign’s focus on diverse businesses. Fisher was one of 10 social media influencers chosen to help promote the campaign in their local communities, and will work directly with KeyBank over the next two weeks to spread the word about the program, while also going out in the community to celebrate the spirit of Albany and inspire others to help “pay it forward” to those most in need during these challenging times.

KeyBank will help show their support for local small businesses through this campaign by purchasing $2,500 in gift cards from five small businesses for a “random act of kindness” giveaway, or consumer surprise and delight. The focus for the small businesses in this campaign is to partner with diverse-owned businesses, identifying minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned, and other small businesses to be inclusive of the full spectrum of diversity. This initiative allows the business to thank their customers for supporting them during this time, and provides an opportunity for the customer to bring additional business on a return visit. This time, KeyBank will also provide a flyer with a QR code to allow the recipients to “pay it forward” if they wish, and make a donation of their own benefitting the organizations.

A Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Hall of Fame Honor Roll Class of 2018 inductee, Fisher forever cemented his spot in Siena Basketball history with a pair of legendary postseason performances during his senior season in 2008, when the captained the Saints to their first of three consecutive MAAC Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. A native of Kingston, New York, he celebrated his 22^nd birthday by coming off the bench to score a team-high 21 points fueled by a career-high tying six threes in Siena’s 74-53 MAAC Championship Game rout of Rider. Then, in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, Fisher set a program postseason record by going a perfect 6-for-6 from three-point range while scoring 19 points in the 13^th seeded Saints’ 83-62 blowout of No. 4 Vanderbilt.

Fisher stands as Siena’s second most prolific three-point shooter in program history with 229 career threes, and amassed 912 points. During his memorable senior season, he led the Saints with 71 threes while shooting a proficient 44.4% from distance, and was named to the 2008 MAAC All-Tournament Team for his postseason heroics.

Currently known more extensively by his professional nickname “Firefly,” Fisher was drafted in 2008 by the Harlem Globetrotters where he enjoyed entertaining fans from around the world for over a decade. Since his retirement from the Globetrotters, Fisher has continued to give back to his local community in numerous ways, including through his Tay Fisher’s Community Cornerstone which aims to help kids stay active while learning life skills lessons through various sports.