SYRACUSE — Syracuse University student-athletes are giving back to the community and helping to motivate kids in Syracuse.

A group of SU football players partnered with the Syracuse City School District’s Building Men Program Friday morning at Clary Middle School to talk to students about the importance of academics and determination.

The student-athletes shared their personal journeys to becoming successful college students and football players.

The Syracuse Building Men Program works to inspire Syracuse youth to make a positive impact on society by instilling drive and passion in them through community service and mentoring events. They currently have programs in middle schools and high schools in and around the Syracuse area.

Source: http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=1001532#.Uu-ehnddWj8

HAMDEN, Conn. – The Southern Connecticut State University field hockey program conducted a clinic at the Church Street School in Hamden on Wednesday as part of the ‘You Go Girl’ program by USA Field Hockey.

The You Go Girl program is an initiative that will expose the sport of field hockey and enhance the lives of girls, ages 10-18, in urban or non-traditional areas. With the help of current NCAA student-athletes, USA Field Hockey will look to introduce field hockey to over 1,000 young women in metropolitan areas.

The You Go Girl program is a part of USA Field Hockey’s greater campaign, Grow the Game. The Grow the Game campaign will expose the sport and inspire participation in both male and female athletes, coaches, umpires, parents and fans. Each of the selected colleges possessed an astonishingly strong commitment to community service, a clear comprehension of the program or a distinctive opportunity to work with urban or at-risk girls, but most possessed all three.

This event is just one example of many community outreach events that SCSU student-athletes will take part in as part of the Tim Greer Insurance Agency Community Service Cup.

Initiated in September, 2008, the ‘Community Service Cup’ program provides a competitive format that allows student-athletes to gain an enriched experience through engagement with the on-campus and local communities by supporting ventures of traditional citizens, campus community members and peer students and student-athletes. SCSU student-athletes volunteered more than 3,000 hours of their time to numerous outreach efforts, both on-campus and in Greater New Haven, during the 2012-13 academic year.

Source: http://www.southernctowls.com/news/2014/1/30/GEN_0130140939.aspx

CINCINNATI – Xavier student-athletes spent time on Friday volunteering at their adopted school, The Academy of World Languages (AWL). This year Xavier University’s student-athletes have adopted three third-grade classrooms and a special-needs classroom at AWL. The student-athletes are involved in activities such as a pen pal program, subject tutoring and mentoring.

Nearly every team was represented at AWL this past week as the student-athletes led a new year’s event for their adoptees. The student-athletes taught their adoptees about Xavier and the college experience, played bingo and provided the students with some fun gifts.

Xavier’s newly elected Student Athlete Advisory Committee President, Matt Stainbrook, made time to volunteer at AWL before his flight to Providence on Friday.

“It is always a blast for me when I get a chance to meet people in the community and have fun with other student-athletes,” Stainbrook commented. “Our adopted students are at an age where they look up to us to shape how they make decisions. I always try to remember this and be a positive example for them.”

Source: http://www.goxavier.com/genrel/013014aaa.html

FREEPORT, N.Y. (Jan. 30, 2014) – LIU Post men’s lacrosse senior midfielder Brandon Bertone (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) recently worked with the non-for-profit organization “Friends of Freeport” in rebuilding two homes that were affected by Hurricane Sandy last fall.

Bertone spent nearly an entire day tearing down and cleaning up the interior of houses, while ripping out and installing sheetrock.

“The work we did was very beneficial to the homeowners we helped,” Bertone said. “I am glad I was able to work with the people involved. They all had positive attitudes, a great work ethic, and were very caring for others. As soon as I arrived, they treated me as one of their own…It is good to see people in this world that are willing to go out of their own way to make others happy.”

Friends of Freeport includes individuals who have close ties to the Incorporated Village of Freeport. It is committed to getting people back in their homes, and to help them continue their lives after the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy.

For more information on Friends of Freeport, please visit www.friendsoffreeportny.org.

Worcester, Mass. – On Monday, January 20 the Clark University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) held the first-ever No-Sew Blanket Drive at the Kneller Athletic Center.

Inspired by a session at the recent NCAA Division III Leadership Conference, members of nearly all athletic programs at Clark gathered to create blankets that were donated to the Abby House, a non-profit women’s advocacy organization that has an emergency shelter, offers affordable housing and a place for women and children to stay, regroup and rebuild.

“Community service is something that many student-athletes and teams participate in,” said SAAC President and men’s swimming and diving captain Josh Kent. “Being able to join together as an athletic community with an event like the No-Sew Blanket Drive gives student-athletes an opportunity to give back to Worcester community in a meaningful way.”

In all the student-athletes made 74 blankets – 50 of them going to Abby’s House and the remaining 24 went to Friendly House, a not for profit organization that strives to promote neighborhood health and welfare for the betterment of Worcester and to further the interests of Worcester’s immigrants – introducing them to customs and traditions of their new home and helping them to become an integral part of civic life.

Source: http://www.clarkathletics.com/News/2013-14/No_Sew_Blanket_Event/NoSewRelease