Number of Participants: 1
Hours Donated: 6000
Value of Time Served: $50,700
Event Type: Civic & Community
Sport: Schools
Date: June 23, 2014
Location:
633 Clark Street Evanston
Illinois 60208, United States
About:
A school-record total of over 6,000 hours in community service was logged by Northwestern State student-athletes and athletic staff during the 2013-14 academic year.
Each of NSU’s NCAA Division I sports teams participate in community service annually in a continuing series of projects benefitting causes ranging from on-campus initiatives to global endeavors. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, advised by academic counselors Carrie Greene and Kelee Roddy, manages the majority of the community service efforts, which resulted in 6,407 hours performed by NSU athletics competitors and staffers in 2013-14.
“Every year we challenge our athletic department to devote 5,000 hours of community service. Kelee and I are overjoyed to see not only has our department met our goal, but we have greatly surpassed it. We couldn’t be more proud of our student-athletes and administration,” said Greene. “The community of Natchitoches does so much to support our student-athletes, the least we can do is devote time to supporting local causes in whatever ways we can. Teaching our student-athletes the value of service at this point in their lives is vital to their maturity and experience as they grow into adulthood.”
Amy Williams, the returning president of the NSU SAAC and a senior Lady Demon tennis player from Leesville, said her peers take great pride in giving back through community service.
“My fellow student-athletes and I are thrilled to see that we achieved such a high number of hours. As SAAC members, we strive to make our service number increase each year. It is our pleasure to be able to help out with campus cleanups, community outreach programs, and a number of other fundraisers,” she said. “We want to make a difference in our society, to focus on more than just our athletics and academics. Our SAAC team, along with all the student-athletes and administration, fully understand that the NSU community is the driving force behind our success, and we want to do everything we can to give back.”
Williams and track and field competitor Quinton Helaire, a junior high jumper from Natchitoches, were the 2013-14 recipients of the Southland Conference Steve McCarty Citizenship Awards, winning the honors over nominees from the league’s other 13 institutions.
Among the wide range of community service activities logged by NSU student-athletes and staffers include appearances at local and area schools and nursing homes, campus and city trash pickups, free sports clinics for kids, and aiding causes such as the Children’s Miracle Network, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Women’s Resource Gala, the Radio MASH Fundraiser providing toys for needy youth, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum and the Hall’s annual induction ceremony, campus events, community events supporting causes such as the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the Boys and Girls Club, Habitat for Humanity, and mission trips overseas to destinations such as Africa, Haiti and Honduras.
The Demon baskeball team and the Lady Demon soccer program each contributed over 700 hours of community service to top the department.
Northwestern’s student-athletes also receive life skills training through the “Victorious for Life” program. It has five main focus areas: academic excellence, athletic excellence, community service, personal development and career development, said Greene.
Workshops presented to the NSU student-athletes include topics like nutrition, cooking, family preparation, and stress management, along with the annual Etiquette Dinner where athletes are mentored on proper dinner and interpersonal manners by alumni who are business professionals.
The “Victorious for Life” program offers career assessments, resume consultations, and mock interviews – all of which are tailored to the student-athlete by teaching transferrable skills obtained from playing a Division I sport, allowing them to understand they are just as marketable as the normal student who may have had the time to hold a job while they were in school, said Greene.
To learn more, please visit: http://www.nsudemons.com/news/2014/8/15/GEN_0815141417.aspx