The Darton State College Lady Cavaliers soccer team will team up with Mission Change on Saturday morning in volunteer efforts to serve the Albany community.

These student-athletes will prepare, package and deliver lunches to senior citizens. They’ll also give flowers and notes of encouragement.

“We’re happy to help,” Darton State head women’s soccer coach Ken Veilands said. “It’s a great experience for the team, and everyone benefits from programs such as these.”

Mission change serves Albany’s elderly, underserved youth, the homeless and those on the brink of homelessness, and volunteers play a vital role in the program’s success, said La Donna Urick, Mission Change executive director.

Often, just giving hope and showing compassion to those in need make a huge difference, she said.

“You begin to understand hardships and other situations that people go through on a daily basis when those relationships you build turn into lifelong friendships,” Urick said. “We love our volunteers. We would not be here if it weren’t for our volunteers!”

Source: http://www.walb.com/story/24662939/darton-soccer-players-help-the-community

Center Valley, PA (February 10, 2014) – The DeSales University SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) has been collecting information and updates from each varsity athletics team on campus and has complied a brief description and update on what some of the teams have done thus far during the 2013-14 school year.

Volleyball
#DSUVB volunteered at the the Lehigh Valley Zoo’s “Boo at the Zoo” during the Halloween holiday. The team handed out candy to children from the area who visited the zoo on the designated day. Each player volunteered for about four hours and had a great time interacting with all of the children in their costumes.

Baseball
#DSUBB has been doing montly trips to the Lehigh Valley Children’s Hospital with each visit consisting of three or four players. These players spend time with the children playing in the hopital play room and visiting with the children who aren’t able to leave their bed.

#DSUBB also held their annual Miracle League event in January in which the entire baseball team gives the kids some basic instruction including playing catch with each of the children. The entire team then assists all of the players in a short game inside on the recreation courts. The Miracle League of Lehigh County is an organization which sets up baseball games for special needs children.

Women’s Basketball
#DSUWBB has participated in several community service events this year including volunteering their time to walk in PACE’s annual “Walk a Mile” event. “Walk a Mile” is a national movement that serves to raise awareness for and eventually put an end to domestic and sexual abuse. The event began with a presentation by DSU PACErs and also featured representatives from Turning Point of the Lehigh Valley, SAFENurses, and the Lehigh Valley Crime Victims Council.

#DSUWBB also volunteered at the “Making Strides of Lehigh Valley” event. The 3.1 mile walk was held in downtown Bethlehem on Saturday, October 26th. The team enjored the pre-walk festivities such as face-painting and Zumba and then made their way to the two mile marker where they cheered on the walk participants. There was plenty of enjoyment at this event and are looking foward to volunteering again next year.

Men’s and Women’s Basketball
Both DSUWBB and DSUMBB volunteered on what has become an annual trip to the Lehigh Valley Academy in conjunction with the Cops-N-Kids Program. During the fall semester, the teams collected almost 600 books that were donated to the children at LVA. During the visit, the student-athletes read stories to the students, helped them create bookmarks, and autographed their books and bookmarks. Both teams always have a tremendous amount of fun and enjoy their visit with the children at LVA every year.

Field Hockey
During the fall semester the #DSUFH team volunteered on several Saturday’s with the Miracle League of Northampton County. The first night of pre-season practice, the team went to Palmer Community Center to participate the first time in which they were each paired with buddies that they played two innings of baseball with. The team was paired with the Dodgers, a team with kids ages 5-17 with various physical or developmental handicaps. The team created a terrific connection with their buddies and have been back three more times since the initial visit. The entire team hopes to make a few more visits in the spring once the seasons re-starts.

Football players visit local elementary school to discuss health, academics, and sportsmanship.

By Marcia Sidney-Reed, Principal of 186th Street Elementary School

Last Friday, the boys and girls in the Wise Owl Nation at 186th Street School cheered for academics and fitness with athletes from the UCLA and USC football teams.

The day marked the 10th anniversary of the school’s Super Bowl School Spirit Day. Students, parents, staff, and teachers wore their favorite jerseys in the spirit of celebrating literacy and fitness for life.

Ric Coy, UCLA Associate Director of Academics and Student Services, and Linda Lassiter, UCLA Academic Counselor, brought five Division I student-athletes to interact with the elementary children, and Matt Ackels, USC Director of Community Outreach brought seven Trojans to join in the fun.

The day began with the Bruins and Trojans meeting each other and taking a group picture to establish unity for the day in the name of education.

The athletes then visited various classrooms to surprise the children with their presence and size. The students’ eyes lit up with excitement and sounds of joy echoed throughout the rooms as the student-athletes greeted each child with an encouraging high-five.

At the close of the school day, The Owls welcomed their guests with the school cheer and fight song. Next, Mr. Coy addressed the children and told them that none of the student-athletes would be standing before them if they had not done their work in the classroom.
Then each player introduced themselves and shared their position, their year in school, the high school they attended, and their academic major.

After the introductions, Matt Ackels shared the “4 Quarters” of the SCORE Initiative, USC Athletics’ cornerstone outreach endeavor: Physical Health, Academic Discipline, Teamwork, and Community Responsibility.

The players formed an academic huddle, and Anthony Neyer, a redshirt junior quarterback from USC, called the academic play encouraging the students to strive for excellence, respect their teachers, do their homework, and work hard to achieve their goals and dreams.

To cap off the events, the teachers and afterschool staff passed out activity cards for the children to get a free book, participate in the fun-filled activities, and of course, to get autographs.

For one day, the barriers that divide these teams and the city dissolved in honor of local children. “It’s a rivalry on the field, but off the field they are great guys and we always have a good time,” said Neyer, laughing at the thought of any bad blood.

“We wanted to come together to create the best for the children and the school,” said Bruin Running Back Ryan Davis.

Ultimately, the day proved as special for the athletes as it did for the kids. “I think we get more out of these types of events than the children.” said Neyer. “To see the community around us and spend time with these kids is always special.”

USC Players in attendance: Kenny Bigelow – Freshman DT, Jordan Austin – Freshman OL, J.R. Tavai – Junior LB, Christian Guzman – RS Freshman WR, Anthony Neyer – RS Junior QB, Devian Shelton – RS Freshman DB, and Ryan Dillard – Sophomore DB

UCLA Players in attendance: Ryan Davis – RS Freshman RB, Roosevelt Davis – RS Sophomore RB, Jayon Brown – Freshman ILB, Alex Staff – Freshman DB, Dylan Luther – Freshman DB

LSU student-athletes honored by TAF for athletic, academic and community service performance

LSU honored 153 athletes Saturday for their performances on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

LSU gymnast Lainie Fleming and baseball player Sean McMullen were named as the female and male Scholar-Athletes of the Year by the Tiger Athletic Foundation at the Academic Excellence Gala in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Tuesday.

Fleming, a four-time member of the Scholastic All-America team, and McMullen were among the 153 LSU athletes honored for achievement on the field, in the classroom and in the community during the 2012-13 school year. Student athletes qualify by making the SEC Academic Honor Roll, LSU Director’s Cup Award for Academic Excellence, or being inducted into the National College Athlete Honor Society (Chi Alpha Sigma).

“We, in the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes are very proud of our young men and women,” Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Executive Director of the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes Kenneth Miles said. “The Academic Gala represents scholarship in action. It is our signature event to highlight the academic and community engagement of our student-athletes.

“We aspire to be the premier provider of transformative student-athlete support services thus we must celebrate and affirm the collective efforts of the fruits of our labor.”

There were 27 student-athletes named to Chi Alpha Omega, while 152 made the SEC honor roll and 153 student-athletes received Director’s Cup Awards.

LSU student-athletes combined to contribute more than 4,475 hours of community service, led by the softball team with 507, which earned that program the community service cup. The softball team’s Strikeout Ovarian Cancer event and Geaux Teal Ovarian Cancer Walk raised more than $17,000.

Rheagan Courville, the 2013 NCAA champion in the vault and the all-around runner-up, was TAF Female Athlete of the Year, and track and field’s Damar Forbes was the TAF Male Athlete of the Year. Forbes swept the SEC Outdoor and NCAA Outdoor titles in the long jump in 2013, while also claiming All-America honors as part of LSU’s 4x-100 meter relay team.

Sheila Boykin of women’s basketball claimed the “Eye of the Tiger” Award for the overcoming great adversity with perseverance, dedication and determination. The gymnastics and softball teams shared the Tiger Cup Award, for combined on-field, academic and community participation success.

Laura Carleton was honored with the Bengal Belles Academic Excellence Award. Six other Tigers – Alexandra Boulet (3.989 gpa in mathematics), Philip Dempsey (4.0 gpa in biological science), Lainie Fleming (3.948 gpa in microbiology), Audrey Lawson (3.91 gpa in kinesiology), Mikayda Mills (3.9 gpa in political science), Dylan Supak (4.0 in kinesiology) – received the Wally Pontiff Award for third-year athletes with a 3.9 cumulative grade point average or better.

The men’s tennis team (3.0569 grade point average), and women’s tennis team (3.2816 GPA)were recognized for having the highest grade point average of all LSU athletic squads.

Other honors handed out at the gala included: men’s basketball coach and former Tiger standout Johnny Jones (alumnus of the year), Jodi Calloway of the women’s soccer team (female volunteer of the year), and football’s Lamin Barrow (male volunteer of the year). Calloway accumulated 130 hours of community service, while Barrow contributed 199 hours of his time in the community in 2012-13.

Source: http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2014/02/lsu_student-atghletes_honored.html

Furnishing the Family :USC Athletics donates furniture to local schools after move to Heritage Hall.

When the USC Athletic Department staff returned to their home in Heritage Hall, they left behind an abundance of furniture at the University Village. There were no better recipients for these gently used pieces than local elementary schools, including Vermont Elementary, Science Center School, John Mack Elementary, Norwood Elementary, and 32nd Street School.

Last week, the University Village doors were opened to appreciative representatives from the five neighboring schools who claimed items that would greatly benefit their campuses.

“We were able to select some much needed furniture for our staff lounge, parent center, and offices,” said Patricia Ferguson, principal of Vermont Elementary School.

The school representatives perused the unoccupied office spaces and expressed their deep gratitude for USC Athletics. “Our school’s funds that would have been spent to purchase this furniture can be reallocated to fund classroom materials for the students,” said Ezequiel Gonzalez, principal of 32nd Street School. “USC’s generosity is greatly appreciated and allows us to continue providing our staff and students with a quality environment.”

In total, more than 150 items were donated and transported to the various campuses by USC’s movers. Among the items donated were desks, file cabinets, drawers, tables, bookshelves, storage shelving, corkboards, whiteboards, couches, chairs and even some decorative plants.

The donations, facilitated by Hatcher Parnell and Todd Davis of USC Athletics Game Management, represent the latest in a strong partnership between the Trojans and the Family of Schools. Through the SCORE Initiative, the Girls PLAY program, and several other events, Athletics will continue to support local education.

Source: http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/comm-outreach/spec-rel/020514aab.html