For a group of Swarthmore College student-athletes, Tuesday evenings have become an important campus and community engagement activity. Members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) have hosted the Delaware County Special Olympics Track & Field team in the Lamb-Miller Field House each week for practices throughout the 2013-14 school year.
The practices include warm-up stretching and laps around Lamb-Miller Field House followed by working on throwing, jumping and running skills; at peak times there were as many as 40 Delaware County Special Olympic athletes in attendance. During the practices, our student-athletes provide mentorship and encouragement to the participants (and even enjoyed a few competitive races around the field house!). The partnership is designed to improve the lives of Special Olympics athletes through their involvement with Division III student-athletes and to foster a mutual learning experience between Division III student-athletes and Special Olympics athletes.
SAAC representatives Melissa O’Connor (softball), Lizzie Kolln (lacrosse) and Julia Murphy (soccer) have been active in recruiting Swarthmore students and student-athletes to volunteer each week and have coordinated weekly activities along with special programs. In addition to more than half of the athletic teams at Swarthmore volunteering throughout the year, other groups on campus reached out to assist, including the McCabe Society.
To read the full story please visit: http://www.swarthmoreathletics.com/news/2014/4/10/ATH_0410141148.aspx
