During this holiday season, members of East Islip High School’s varsity softball team shopped for 12 Amityville children who currently live in homeless shelters. The softball players met at Target, where they received a “Dear Santa” list from coach Jason McGowan, and shopped until their Christmas list was filled. The event was sponsored by the Christmas Magic program.
“I loved shopping for my kid,” said senior Courtney Greene. “It’s a great feeling knowing that he woke up Christmas morning with a bunch of toys.”
“I had a great time shopping for my person and I hope she liked the clothes that I picked out for her,” said senior Jackie Carty.
“This annual event that we do as a team teaches my athletes not to take life for granted, and to appreciate how lucky they are to be in the situation that they are in,” said McGowan.

EI Softball Shoppers: Sponsored by the Christmas Magic program, East Islip High School’s varsity softball team shopped for 12 Amityville children who currently live in homeless shelters.

Photo courtesy of the East Islip School District

(INDIANAPOLIS) – Twenty-four schools and one conference have been named finalists for the 2017 Division II Award of Excellence, an accolade recognizing positive campus and community engagement events hosted during the past year. Walsh University has been selected as the finalist for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference for its Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

Members of the Walsh University athletic teams used their day off of classes on Monday, January 18, 2016, for Martin Luther King Day to give back to the community. A total of 167 student-athletes and coach volunteers accumulated 474.75 community services hours that day at nine different sites.

The sites included: the Boys and Girls Club of Massillon, Louisville YMCA, North Canton YMCA, Stark Parks, Stark Fresh, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Our Lady of Peace Catholic School, Rose Lane Nursing Home, and St. Luke’s Assisted Living Community. As part of the University-wide day of service, Walsh University doubled the goal of 1,100 hours of service, with over 2,200 hours served by 470 volunteers.

“It is a great honor to be recognized as a finalist for this award and validates our commitment to community service and student-athletes being positive role models in our community which are both integral parts of the NCAA Division II philosophy,” said Sara Pratt, Assistant Athletic Director Athletic Compliance Officer/Senior Woman Administrator. “Although our athletic teams volunteer throughout the year, having one day that has so much impact on the area is a rewarding experience for all involved and is something our student-athletes and coaches look forward to every year.”

Walsh Athletics is once again planning its Day of Service for the holiday this year. As of now, over 200 student-athletes have pledged to contribute their time.

Each year, Division II selects one finalist from each conference and one independent representative to be recognized for events that exemplify any of the six Division II attributes: learning, balance, resourcefulness, sportsmanship, passion and service. Each finalist will receive $500.

This year’s finalists hosted events that honored members of the military, benefited local youth, assisted people with disabilities, raised money for positive causes and more.

Two runner-up recipients and one overall winner will be announced during the Division II Business Session at the 2017 NCAA Convention on Jan. 21 in Nashville, Tennessee. The winner will receive $1,500 and a nationally televised football or basketball game during the 2017-18 season. The first runner-up will receive $1,250, and the second runner-up will receive $1,000. All prize money is expected to be used on future community engagement initiatives.

Members of the Montana men’s basketball team helped make the holidays a little brighter for kids in Missoula on Monday afternoon, spending time away from the court to mentor the students at C.S. Porter Middle School.

With their final exams complete, Grizzlies Fabijan Krslovic, Jamar Akoh, Trever Spoja and Michael Oguine along with assistant coach Rachi Wortham shared their wisdom and stories of basketball, school, and the life of a student-athlete with C.S. Porter’s sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

The Griz talked with the youngsters during their lunch period before taking to the playground to have some fun with the kids in the snow.

13912″We’re blessed with the opportunity to give back to the community. It’s good to get out here and just hang with them, show them a good time, and just them know that we care about them,” said Akoh, a junior from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., who is redshirting this season.

“I was a kid once, and whenever you see someone that you kind of want to be like it’s exciting to hang out with them, and see how good of a person they are.”

For the administration at C.S. Porter, having the Griz stop by and spend time with the kids helps broaden their student’s perspective, and helps let them know there is a big world outside the Missoula valley that is there waiting for them.

“It’s good to see some of our students at the University doing this stuff and making a connection to the community,” said Assistant Principal Ty Solberg.

“We’ve got a guy from Australia here, we’ve got guys from California, and the kids are getting to experience stuff that is outside Missoula, Montana, so it’s good for growth.”

The Montana coaching staff and administration at C.S. Porter arranged the mentor session as a holiday surprise for the students, who weren’t aware they were going to get to spend the afternoon with Grizzlies when they went walking into the cafeteria.

“It’s pretty cool. They just showed up; we didn’t even expect it,” said Porter student Dylan Rollins.

13913″They’re great role models, and it’s cool to have them around and get to know them, then getting to see them go out there and play and do their thing is awesome.”

Over the past semester, University of Montana student-athletes spent over 1,649 combined hours volunteering in and around Missoula as part of the “Griz Life” program for student-athlete development. That breaks down to an average of over five and a half hours per-student-athlete in the fall semester alone.

The Griz return to the court on Thursday, Dec. 22, when Pepperdine comes to Dahlberg Arena for the final nonconference game of the season.

SOURCE: http://gogriz.com/news/2016/12/19/mens-basketball-griz-take-break-from-basketball-court-to-mentor-local-kids.aspx

Hofstra University Cross Country runner Alan Hetherington has been named the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS) Men’s PlayMaker of the Month for December 2016.
University of Nebraska softball player Lotte Sjulin was named the NCAS Women’s PlayMaker of the Month.

The PlayMaker of the Month Award recognizes the academic achievement and community service efforts of student-athletes at NCAS member institutions. Nominated by coaches, administrators, and teammates, current student-athletes must carry a 3.0 grade point average, and must be active participants in community/volunteer services and/or social change advocacy.

Hetherington, a native of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, completed his third season on the Pride Men’s Cross Country Team in 2016. Hetherington served as the Colonial Athletic Association SAAC representative to the NCAA for the 2015-16 academic year. He is also in his second year as his team’s SAAC representative and his first year as Hofstra’s SAAC Vice President. During the fall semester, Hetherington and his SAAC colleagues filled shoeboxes with gifts for children and donated them to a local hospital.

Hetherington serves on “It’s On Us Committee” as the Co- Chair of SAAW: Sexual Assault Awareness Week. The purpose of this group is to help bring awareness and provide support services to those with questions and concerns. This April, Hetherington will assist in bringing awareness and promoting events that will be held for Sexual Assault Awareness week. Hetherington also volunteers with “Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island,” “Shake-A-Rake,” “Rolling Thunder” (an organization that puts on weekly events for autistic children), ROTC, “Girls on the Run,” (an organization that helps inspire young girls to be healthy and confident, and “One Love Foundation.”

Hetherington, who was also voted to the 2015-16 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Men’s Track and Field/Cross Country Academic All-District team, was also named the 2015 CAA Men’s Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He earned CAA Cross Country All-Academic team honors as well the CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award in both 2015 and 2016. Hetherington is a three-time Dean’s List honoree and a two-time Provost’s List honoree for earning a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Currently, he is carrying a 3.96 GPA, majoring in biology with a minor in biochemistry.

Hetherington has competed in all 18 cross country meets since his arrival at Hofstra. In 2015, he recorded the 11th-best 8K time in school history of 25:43 at the CAA Championships and then posted the 23rd-best 10K time of 33:47 at the NCAA Division I Northeast Regional Championship in Boston.

For 32 years, the mission of the NCAS has been to “use the power of sport to affect positive social change.” We educate and empower individuals and organizations by inspiring values-based thinking leading to actions that promote social responsibility and equality. Through Dr. Lapchick’s leadership, the NCAS has improved college student-athlete graduation rates, advocates for issues of diversity that plague athletic organizations, and creates programs to affect social change in sports and society.

For more information about the NCAS PlayMaker of the Month Award, visit the NCAS website at www.ncasports.org/services/playmakers-of-the-month.

FLORENCE, S.C. — In October, the Lake City High School athletic department was awarded the Palmetto Gold distinction by the South Carolina High School League for overall sportsmanship and community service.

The award was based upon the school’s student athletes, coaches and fans’ participation in multiple projects, including a citywide cleanup after Hurricane Matthew struck.

“We always push sportsmanship and community service at Lake City,” Lake City Athletic Director Matt Apicella said. “The hurricane came right around our homecoming, and it was amazing to see how everyone came together. The alumni and our students united to do a citywide cleanup for the community.”

The Lake City student-athletes and coaches have participated in numerous tasks throughout the year, including visiting senior centers, participating in food drives, wrapping presents to give to the Boys and Girls Club, going into the elementary school to mentor kids and working with children in the Lake City recreational leagues.

“It’s just a statement to the kind of kids and coaches we have here,” Apicella said. “They’ve really grasped the opportunity to serve the community and to be role models.”

While Apicella has seen the difference that serving in the community can make in a student’s life, it also has been personally rewarding for him to see the kids taking the initiative.

“One of the visions I had when I took over as the athletic director was to be more active in the community,” Apicella said. “It has been awesome to see the kids go all in with the initiatives. In the beginning, we were really begging athletes to come out and help, and we might have been lucky to get a handful. Now, when people call us for participation, we have to ask them the maximum number of kids we can bring.”

Many coaches and players can get caught up in results on the field, but Apicella said the focus for the Panthers is to be the best they can be and make the most of their time for the future.

“Wins and losses are temporary,” Apicella said. “Teaching these kids how to serve and paying forward in the community is the most important thing in our athletic department, and that’s what makes a lasting impact. We feel that if we set the foundation of service, sportsmanship and mentoring that everything else will fall into place.”

Source: http://www.scnow.com/news/pee_dee_weekly/article_d80f404a-cd05-11e6-aef9-b33b58ed0115.html