HAMDEN, Conn. – Members of the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team spent their morning at Wilbur Cross High School on Thursday, helping out at the Yale-New Haven Hospital and New Haven Police Department (NHPD) PAL Summer Camp – Health and Fitness Day.

Junior James Ford, Jr. (Hopewell, Va.) and sophomores Kasim Chandler (Newark, N.J.) and Alain Chigha (Gainesville, Fla.) joined Director of Basketball Operations Mike Papale at the month-long, all-day summer camp in New Haven. On this particular day, children engaged in physical activities including Zumba, Karate and of course a game of basketball. Quinnipiac’s student-athletes served as honorary coaches and referees while trying to teach little techniques and skills about the sport.

“We really enjoyed making the trip to New Haven to help out the summer camp,” said Ford, who completed his second year with the Bobcats’ basketball program this past year. “So many kids attend our games throughout the season, so it’s a great way to give back to the local communities.”

The PAL Summer Camp runs from July 1 to Aug. 1. Participants take part in educational, physical and fun activities and go on a number of off-site field trips, such as a New Britain Rock Cats game, bowling and roller-skating, said Sgt. Elisa Tuozzoli, who is in charge of organizing the camp. There were 150 participants in 2013, which doubled from 75 in 2012. This year, 200 students attended the camp.

Quinnipiac student-athletes are on their summer schedule, taking classes and preparing for the 2014-15 season. The Quinnipiac University men’s basketball team kicks off the 2014-15 campaign on Friday, November 14, 2014 against cross-town rival Yale in the sixth annual Connecticut 6 Classic at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden.

Student-athletes, parents and fans can download the QU Athletics schedules to your laptop and mobile devices for free by clicking in the iCalendar link at the bottom of each sport’s homepage or the master schedule page. Fans can also follow Quinnipiac Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@QUAthletics) for all of the latest news and update.

Source: http://www.quinnipiacbobcats.com/sports/mbkb/2013-14/releases/20140714qru76l

The ISU men’s basketball team’s regular season does not begin for about four months, but the squad has been busy on-campus since the 2013-14 school year ended in May with summer workouts and classes.

In addition to partaking in two activities that embody ISU men’s basketball student athletes by putting in work on the court in summer workouts and in the classroom, the squad recently participated in a community service activity away from the confines of Redbird Arena.

The ISU men’s basketball team took its talents off-campus by volunteering at the KinderCare Learning Center in Bloomington. The foursome of junior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, senior guard Daishon Knight, sophomore center Reggie Lynch and manager John Putyrski spent about an hour with 25 kids at KinderCare.

“It was fun to spend time with the children at KinderCare,” Lynch said. “We played basketball with the kids and showed them some of the drills we do in practice. The kids loved it and asked a lot of questions.”

The ISU men’s basketball team opens its schedule of games with an exhibition contest against Lewis on Nov. 10 at 7:05 p.m. at Redbird Arena followed by its home regular season opener against Utah State on Nov. 16 at 2:05 p.m. But before then, the squad plans to take part in other volunteer activities in the Bloomington-Normal area, in addition to perfecting its craft on the court and in the classroom.

Source: http://www.videtteonline.com/index.php/2014/07/22/redbird-basketball-volunteers-at-kindercare/

EMU Student-Athletes Continue to Give Back

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Throughout the 2013-14 academic year, student-athletes from each of Eastern Michigan University’s 21 varsity programs took time out of their academic and athletic schedules to help out around the Ypsilanti community. With emphasis on giving back to our local and campus communities, the student-athletes collectively participated in approximately 2,000 volunteer hours.

“Engaging with our community is an ongoing focus for our Department of Athletics, coaches and student-athletes,” added EMU Vice President and Director of Athletics Heather Lyke. “Our student-athletes have risen to the occasion by participating in many events this year. We are particularly grateful to the 2nd & 7 Foundation for the books they provided us that we were able to give to 2nd graders throughout the Ypsilanti schools. There is no greater lesson our student-athlete learn than the importance of giving back to others. And there is no greater moment than watching the joy on a child’s face when they are impacted by our student-athletes.”

One of the most prevalent initiatives created during the year was the 2nd & 7 Foundation. The program started in 1999 by Luke Fickell, Ryan Miller, and Mike Vrable, who are three former Ohio State University student-athletes. The trio instilled the importance of community outreach while playing football and continues to pay it forward through the foundation’s “Tackling Illiteracy” program. During EMU’s new initiative, more than 200 student-athletes visited 24 total second grade classrooms between six different Ypsilanti elementary schools. The 2nd & 7 Foundation writes and publishes a new book every year, and 700 second grade students were given donated books as a part of the program to tackle illiteracy.

In addition to Eastern’s efforts in elementary literacy, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (S.A.A.C.) raised $950 for the Ypsilanti Community Schools Foundation by hosting the annual Jock Jamz, a student-athlete talent show. S.A.A.C. also spearheaded an effort to support the Angel Tree Program with the local Salvation Army.

Student-athletes from each varsity program also devoted time to help the community as a team. Most recently, the football team participated in the first annual EMU Victory Day on June 27. The coaches and student-athletes hosted 22 cognitively and physically impaired children at Rynearson Stadium, who participated in football-related activities and were presented with a medal at the end of the day. The women’s gymnastics team went out into the community during a “Get Off Your Glass” outreach, during which time they cleaned up the school playgrounds and parks and spent time marking drains on campus to assist with storm water management. More community interaction was done by the women’s basketball team when the squad went to the Glacier Hills Retirement Home and participated in EMU’s Autism Collaborative Center Family Fun Night. For Valentine’s Day, members of the softball and women’s golf teams went to the Ann Arbor VA Hospital to personally deliver cards to patients.

Teams also participated in fundraising and collection throughout the year. On Sept. 22, the women’s soccer team raised over $5,000 for the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition when it recognized its match as Cancer Awareness Day. The women’s swimming program made and donated blankets to children at Mott Hospital, and the EMU wrestling team purchased supplies and ingredients to serve approximately 40 people at the Ronald McDonald House in Ann Arbor.

The Athletics Department also joined up with the University on May 10 for the American Heart Association Heart Walk, in which over 4,000 participants walked five kilometers to raise money and awareness for heart disease. Overall, EMU raised $33,000 for the Heart Association, surpassing its original participation and fundraising goals.

NEW ORLEANS – Two New Orleans entities benefitted from some community service work last Friday, July 18, as Tulane Green Wave student-athletes visited KIPP Believe and Second Harvest Food Bank.

The work done by the student-athletes is a continuation of a community service initiative that the Tulane athletic department has committed to participating in around the Greater New Orleans area every Friday of the summer.

A majority of the student-athletes who participated in Friday’s activities headed down to KIPP Believe’s new campus on South Carrollton Ave. to do some renovations to the campus. Football’s Jamar Thomas, Logan Hamilton, Richard Allen, Sherman Badie, Matthew Bailey, Kedrick Banks, Eric Bell, Eric Bowie, Aaron Bryant, Tristan Cooper, Glen Cuiellette, Leonard Davis, Andrew DiRocco, Sean Donnelly, Lorenzo Doss, Braynon Edwards, Dontrell Hilliard, Luke Jackson, Devon Johnson, Charles Jones, Royce LaFrance, John Leglue, Donnie Lewis, Stephon Lofton, Sergio Medina, Parry Nickerson, Alex Paul, Andre Robinson, Kenneth Santa Marina, Trey Scott, Nathan Shienle, Nate Skold, Tanzel Smart, Casey Spinelli, Chris Taylor, Calvin Thomas, Eldrick Washington and Peter Woullard were joined by men’s basketball’s Keith Pinckney and baseball’s Sam Martin, Jackson Johnson and Brady Wilson as they performed a variety of renovations to the campus. Many of the student-athletes disposed of old furniture and materials to make room for new accommodations that they unloaded from trucks and brought into the campus.

The mission of KIPP is to create a respected, influential and national network of public schools that are successful in helping students from educationally underserved communities develop the knowledge, skills, character and habits need to succeed in college and the competitive world beyond.

Out in Elmwood, Associate Athletic Director/SWA Sue Bower took a group solely comprised of football student-athletes to the Second Harvest Food Bank. Brandon LeBeau, Tanner Lee, Nico Marley, Darion Monroe, Taurean Nixon, Devin Powell, Josh Rounds, Jason Stewart, Lazedrick Thompson, Arturo Uzdavinis, Fudge Van Hooser, Kyle Davis, Anthony Taylor, Xavier Rush and Richard Carthon – who pulls double-duty as a student-athlete as he also stars for the baseball team – had to don long pants and sweatshirts in the middle of the summer, which was a nice change of pace from the hot weather the team has conditioned in throughout June and July. The group itemized and categorized donated food while in a cooler that was set around 60 degrees, hence the warm clothing.

The Second Harvest Food Bank of New Orleans and Acadiana hopes to lead the fight against hunger and build food security in south Louisiana by providing food access, advocacy, education and disaster response.

“With only one more community service event remaining, Tulane student-athletes continue to make a huge impact around the Greater New Orleans area,” stated Tulane ASC senior academic counselor Charlotte Battiest. “We will end our community service here on campus by hosting a Health and Wellness Fair from 2-4pm at the LBC Quad next Friday. The focus will be on educating the youth about nutrition and exercise.”

Source: http://www.tulanegreenwave.com/genrel/072214aaa.html

While many collegiate athletes are not in the public eye, there are those who are. Some go on to stay in that view as professional athletes and the rest who don’t make it that far take what they learned into the future paths of his or her life.

The NCAA athletes are brought into the team for a reason and from that moment on are always a representative of his or her school and team.

There are many different NCAA sponsored initiatives within communities that teams reside and play in. Many of the outreach events are planned around a larger event, i.e. Basketball Final Four, to bring together the athletes, coaches, and members of the community to participate in serving a cause or organization that helps others.

At the 2014 Women’s Basketball Final Four in Nashville, Tennessee, the impact made by the NCAA and its athletes will not quickly be forgotten. And that doesn’t even begin to include the actual Final Four event. Many different NCAA sponsored and partnered organizations came together to reach over 2,000 children in the Nashville area. According to NCAA.com, “The purpose of the NCAA Community Outreach 101 is to teach youth about social responsibility through service learning and to encourage participation in volunteer opportunities, enhance existing projects and foster a lifelong commitment to community service.” Many different clinics and events were held in the days before the Women’s Final Four began with involvement for the children and the athlete members.

NCAA Division II has its own website dedicated to the community programs that the NCAA Division II registered schools are a part of, as well as Division II as a whole. Upon opening the homepage, one can find a scroll of videos, news stories, and links that talk about the different engagement programs that Division II schools have participated in. Some events are well known, while others are unique to the school or team in participation. sornt6xtpq2e2bndDivision II is heavily involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which works to grant the “wishes” of children with life-threatening illnesses. In 2012 alone, the Division II schools raised almost $2.5 million to benefit the foundation, along with helping in the completion of a “wish.” Other schools or teams have taken to creating their own way of involving the community in other ways than just a typical game. UNC-Pembroke puts on “The Senior Games”, which brings senior citizens together to compete in Olympic type events in all different sporting disciplines. Clark-Atlanta created a community engagement committee to take a look into what was already being done by the school and NCAA to see what the athletic department and programs, as well as the university, together could do to benefit the community.

In short, community service and engagement are cultivated in an athletes mind from the very beginning, as a young athlete whole attends a sponsored event or camp to the college athletes who are putting on the camp or clinic to the professional associations that come for a select few athletes. It starts at the beginning and works to shape how important it is to give back to the community in any situation and in any way that is possible, small or large.

Source: http://tamaraodonnell729.spreadable.info/2014/06/30/get-invovled-with-the-ncaa/