ISU Student Athletes lend a hand during community appreciation week to strengthen ties with each other and their community.
To read more and see their local news video clip, please visit: http://www.centralillinoisproud.com/story/d/story/isu-athletes-give-back-for-community-appreciation/13105/xqOncLtS_EGNRmxrXqVxsQ#.U5JphG1viX8.twitter
Hempstead, NY – Throughout the 2013-14 academic year, Hofstra University student-athletes were active in and around the Hofstra and surrounding communities. During the year, student-athletes from all 17 athletic teams took part in more than 40 community service projects and totaled nearly 3,000 hours of service.
The Department of Athletics is proud of all of the student-athletes at Hofstra University for their continued dedication to serve others. Their volunteer efforts were recognized by the Hofstra University Office of Student Leadership and Activities, which awarded Hofstra’s student-athletes with two awards at its’ annual end of the year banquet. Student-athletes received the Good Neighbor Award for their work during this year’s Shake-A-Rake initiative, as well as the Community Service Event of the Year for their annual Reading With Pride project.
“I am proud of our student-athletes for the tremendous support that they have once again provided in our surrounding communities,” said Hofstra Vice President and Director of Athletics Jeffrey A. Hathaway. “It is clear that our student-athletes understand that they are very fortunate to attend an outstanding University and be presented with opportunities to excel in both the classroom and competitive venues. At the same time they have a passion for helping others and know that part of being a Hofstra student-athlete is to give back to others. Special thanks to our student-athletes, coaches and staff for making our community service program so successful.”
Highlighted community service events during the spring semester included:
POLAR PLUNGE
Student-athletes from men and women’s cross country, men’s tennis, men and women’s golf and volleyball took part in the annual Town of North Hempstead Polar Plunge in support of the Special Olympics of Long Island. The team raised more $1,200 for the event, which totaled $82,512 in donations.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. PARK CLEAN UP
The men’s tennis team spent several Sunday mornings throughout the semester at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Hempstead. Along with other students from Hofstra and several community members, Pride student-athletes helped clean up the park as part of the Hempstead Beautification Program.
YOUTH SOCCER CLINICS
The men and women’s soccer teams held several clinics throughout the semester for local youth groups. Children were taken through drills, games and activities that stressed skill building, teamwork and sportsmanship. Some of the organizations worked with included the Massapequa Soccer Club and the Levittown Soccer Club. The men and women’s soccer teams at Hofstra held a special youth day on April 13, where they joined with soccer legend Pele and hosted a day full of soccer activities at James M. Shuart Stadium.
LET ALL THE CHILDREN PLAY CLINIC
The Hofstra University Department of Athletics partnered with the Let All The Children Play Foundation for an afternoon of sports at the Hofstra University Fitness Center. More than 100 participants attended the sports day and were taken through drills and games in soccer, baseball and softball. Student-athletes from the Pride men and women’s soccer teams as well as the baseball team ran the event, while team members from the men’s tennis and volleyball teams helped set-up for the festivities.
CAA FOOD DRIVE CHALLENGE
Throughout the first week in March, student-athletes from nearly all of Hofstra’s athletic teams joined together to host a weeklong food drive. Non-perishable food items were collected at local supermarkets as well as at home athletic contests. Overall, more than 450 pounds of food were donated to the Island Harvest Food Bank.
MARY BRENNAN INN
Student-athletes from the women’s basketball team helped raise funds to sponsor a meal at the Mary Brennan Inn. The team took a special trip to The Inn on January 14 and helped serve the meal they had sponsored to hundreds of guests.
BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF LONG ISLAND CLINICS
Hofstra Athletics played host to clinics for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island twice during the spring semester. Children from the organization came to campus on separate Wednesday afternoons and were led through sports clinics by team members from the men’s lacrosse and men’s soccer teams. Head Coaches Seth Tierney and Richard Nuttall and their squads ran the participants through stations featuring different skill building exercises, and each day ended with a game between Hofstra student-athletes and Big Brothers Big Sisters participants.
UNITED NATIONS INTER-AGENCY GAMES
From Wednesday April 23 through April 26, Hofstra University played host to the United Nations Inter-Agency Games. UN representatives from 104 countries visited campus for friendly competition in a number of sporting events. Student-athletes from the Pride men and women’s tennis, volleyball, women’s cross country and women’s soccer programs volunteered throughout the event in a variety of areas including scorekeeping and officiating. The experience was tremendous for all involved.
READING WITH PRIDE
More than 35 student-athletes took part in the annual Reading With Pride event. Pride student-athletes from baseball, women’s lacrosse, men and women’s cross country, men and women’s tennis, volleyball and field hockey teams visited four local elementary schools and read to children in honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday. The Hofstra University Office of Student Leadership and Activities recognized the event as the 2013-14 Community Service Event of the Year.
EISENHOWER PARK MINI TRIATHLON
Student-athletes from men and women’s cross country helped set-up for the event, as well as volunteered at registration tables and water stations throughout the day.
JAIL & BAIL
The Annual Jail & Bail event run by the Office of Student Leadership and Activities was a huge success this year. Student-athletes from women’s golf, men and women’s cross country, men’s tennis, volleyball and field hockey programs took part in the event, which raised funds for the Special Olympics of New York.
THINK PINK GAME
The Pride women’s basketball team held its annual Think Pink game on February 9 to raise Breast Cancer awareness. The team wore pink uniforms during the game and donned “United We Fight” t-shirts during warmups.
GIRL SCOUT WALK-A-THON
Student-athletes from volleyball and women’s tennis volunteered at the Annual Girl Scouts of Long Island Walk-A-Thon at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration. Volunteers spent the afternoon at the fundraiser, helping to set-up and run water stations, as well as putting on athletic displays for the guests who were in attendance.
ST. BALDRICK’S DAY
Hofstra’s community service efforts were not just limited to student-athletes as Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Facilities Jay Artinian raised nearly $1,500 for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and shaved his head at the Hofstra’s annual St. Baldrick’s Day event.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CLINICS
The Hofstra Women’s Basketball team took part in several clinics during the spring semester. Team members assisted with basketball skill events at local elementary schools and also hosted a clinic on campus for the Special Olympics of Long Island.
Source: http://www.gohofstra.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=209515278&DB_OEM_ID=22200
“LA CROSSE, Wis. (WXOW) – This Friday and Saturday around 3,000 student athletes and 19,000 spectators will pour into Veterans Memorial Sports Complex at UW-La Crosse for the WIAA State Track and Field Meet. And days before the event, volunteers are hard at work preparing.
On Tuesday, volunteers set up mats and started moving around 50 sets of bleachers to accommodate the 22,000 thousand people expected to attend the event.
“They’re not light,” said Cy Badertscher, UW-La Crosse Track Athlete and Volunteer.
This year, 700 to 800 volunteers will work to make the event a success. Without their help, the competition could not happen in La Crosse.
“The WIAA, they take a net loss on this event each year,” said Josh Buchholtz, On-Site Coordinator for the WIAA State Track and Field Meet. “And so all the volunteers that we have are very vital to how this thing operates.”
Lucky for the WIAA, finding volunteers is not an issue.
“They sent out an email looking for volunteers,” said Badertscher, “and I know, I think it filled up in like four hours.”
Volunteers take care of everything from cleaning and setting up hurdles to working the gates and taking measurements during the meet.
“State Meet kind of takes over our whole week but we like it,” said Badertscher. “It’s probably our favorite time of the year when we’re not competing.”
“I think the biggest challenges we have are just coordinating all of the efforts,” said Buchholtz. “It’s a multifaceted event.”
But even with a good crew of volunteers Buchholtz say there will be plenty of hurtles during the event.
“We’ve got all kinds of hurdles that are going to come out here,” said Buccholtz. “So yeah, we’ll have hurdles. But we’ve going to make sure we go over them smoothly.”
Buccholtz said Tuesday and Wednesday are the busiest set-up days because UW-L has to be “meet-ready” by Thursday morning when it’s inspected by WIAA officials.”
Source: http://www.wxow.com/story/25685578/2014/06/03/volunteers-play-essential-role-in-state-track-and-field-meet
“On a brisk spring afternoon, members of the CREC Public Safety Academy soccer and track and field teams took some time to give back to the CREC community.
As part of their commitment to community service, student athletes from the public-service themed high school traveled from Enfield to Glastonbury to participate in a collaborative soccer game with elementary-aged students from the Glastonbury-East Hartford Magnet School (GEMS).
Students from GEMS signed up to take part in the soccer game, which was offered as a feature of their afterschool enrichment programming. The young students were excited to show off their skills to the opposing high school athletes. There was a collaborative, but competitive spirit in the air as students from GEMS demonstrated that they were fierce competitors; one was even overheard asking the high school students not to go easy on them. “We’re not kids,” he said.
The afternoon was a time of enjoyment for all, and the students at GEMS are excited for and looking forward to a possible rematch against their bigger foes in the near future. The athletics program at the CREC Public Safety Academy, in addition to four other CREC high schools, was expanded just this year to include junior varsity. The program was carefully designed to be an extension of the district’s academic programming, including using athletics as an avenue to get CREC students more involved in the community. Participating students reside in many surrounding towns, including Bloomfield, Ellington, Enfield, Granby, Hartford, South Windsor, Windsor, and Windsor Locks.”
Source: http://articles.courant.com/2014-06-03/community/hcrs-89760-glastonbury-20140530_1_glastonbury-east-hartford-magnet-school-crec-public-safety-academy-crec-students
Started by former NY Islander, current NHLPA Business/ Communications Advisor, and an active youth sports advisor Steve Webb, Team Up 4 Community (TU4C ) is proud to announce the 2013-2014 School Year L.I. Impact Report.
As we all know, many athletes support philanthropic initiatives that aim to benefit their communities, which make up the backbone of North America. With TU4C, we are continuously creating an environment where our youth athletes and others care about their communities and the importance of being socially responsible.
Since the launch of TU4C in May 2012, TU4C have recorded over $2 million dollars in community service work performed by our youth athletes across North America. In Long Island alone this school year, TU4C has reached close to 6,000 youth athletes participating in over 32,000 hours of community service work. This is valued at over $233,000 given back to our L.I. Communities.
TU4C is a powerful platform that is propelling community service work through athletes here on L.I. as well as across North America. We provide a fun and competitive environment that engages youth athletes in participating in community service work, particularly through our interactive map and online community service video challenges.TU4C also provides online education that teaches the value of HOW and WHY as an athlete it is important to giveback. We then equip the athletes with the necessary online resources to lead impactful community service projects.
To learn more visit: www.tu4c.org
