On the field, Avery football players battle tooth-and-nail each Friday night, striving to dominate and demolish the competition and succeed on the gridiron.
Off the field, however, Avery’s football players and coaches are working just as hard to serve fellow students and share part of their time and lives with youngsters of Avery County Schools.

Last week, the Avery Vikings showed up at each of the county elementary and middle schools to assist in a variety of activities, whether it involved sharing time to make the day of a young student in an elementary school cafeteria, opening doors for commuting parents bringing their children to their early-morning drop-off locations, or sharing with students about the high school student-athlete experience and discussing how their own formative years in elementary or middle school helped them along their educational and athletic paths.

Avery Vikings head coach Jason Phelps continues to seek ways to connect his team to the community at large, which in turn helps the community see the hearts of the players whose faces are often hidden behind face masks and helmets.
“It’s something that I’ve done at previous schools I’ve been at with the varsity kids and program in general. It did a lot in the past for the boys, being able to help out in the community and see those younger kids who look up to them,” Phelps explained. “The younger students can see these high school players as more than just a football player. They can see them as someone who cares about them, as someone who wants to help them; that they are a real person and not just someone wearing a uniform on a Friday night.”

According to Phelps, players spending time in service goes deeper than a “feel-good” experience. It helps those who participate to take ownership in acts that benefit others and helps individuals, while putting the needs of others before themselves, a trait that often translates well onto the football field. It also allowed for many players to return to schools they formerly attended, having the ability to pass along words of wisdom or inspiration to youngsters who are following in their proverbial footsteps through the school’s hallways and classrooms.
“The program is a great way for our kids to give back to where they got their start,” Phelps added. “Going to help schools that they went to, and being able to walk the halls and understand where they got their start helps the smaller kids in the schools and community to see what the older students have done and hot they got their start, and help them to dream that they can be successful when they are older.”

High school students often scoff or balk at the notion of doing a project outside of the classroom dynamic, but Phelps shared that his players did anything but rebuff the idea once they experienced it.
“Our players came back and told us it was a great experience and that they wanted to go back and do it again,” Phelps said. “Not only working with the kids, but getting to see their former teachers and taking a stroll down memory lane, many in schools they themselves attended, was significant to them.”

One such instance occurred at Newland Elementary School, where a number of current players returned to see their names still etched in the gym from their time taking physical education years ago.
“When I went to Newland Elementary, Coach Ward had pointed out some of my football players still had some of his fitness records in the gym, and the kids got to see that and the younger students were able to see who those names were, and put faces to names they saw in class every day,” Phelps said.

Not only were the football players and younger students positively impacted by the interaction and special visit, but teachers and administrators were greatly impressed by the actions of the players and their willingness to connect with the younger generation of schoolchildren.
“All the principals were really excited when I informed them, as we had to have permission from each of them for this to happen,” Phelps added. “They were excited to do it, and Dr. (David) Burleson was excited about it. From the responses I’ve heard, the administrators were really glad to have them come to their school. The teachers expressed how much they appreciated it, and how much it meant to both their students and to our players, too.”
Given the success of the day of giving back, the football team has plans to expand the program in some greater fashion in the near future.

“Definitely. I’d like to do it for all our home games. We hoped to start it earlier, but my family and I have been dealing with some personal matters with my father’s cancer,” Phelps shared. “Dealing with things off the field has been hard and has kept me from being able to expand the idea more often this season, but we hope to get our kids out in the community making a difference more often in the future.”

Source: http://www.averyjournal.com/avery/avery-football-players-return-to-local-schools-in-giving-back/article_4f97be52-778a-57f6-9a3b-88c499478e19.html

Grand Valley State student athletes found time off the field and outside the classroom to give back to the community, raising $7,000 for the Make-A-Wish foundation during the 2015-16 school year.

The fundraising was organized by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which is an organization comprised of student-athletes from all varsity teams at GVSU. The committee’s purpose is to inform all student-athletes on what is happening in the athletic department, discuss campus-wide issues that affect student-athletes, as well as raising money for the Make-A-Wish foundation.

The Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee partnered with the Make-A-Wish foundation in 2003 and has since become one of the foundation’s largest and most consistent contributors. Since the partnership in 2003, all Division II schools have combined to raise more than $4 million and granted more than 500 “wishes” for children with life-threatening medical conditions.

GVSU’s Athletics Director Keri Becker praised her student athletes for finding time in their busy schedule to help give back to an important cause.

“It’s a great feeling knowing we have so many giving and supportive student-athletes here at GVSU,” Becker said. “It speaks to how our athletes want to do something beyond themselves. To carve out even more time from athletics, they use their platform as athletes to accomplish something important besides the ‘X and Os.’

“It must come from their competitive juices.”

SAAC president and women’s lacrosse student-athlete Kira Dosenberry has been overwhelmed with the support and engagement of her fellow student-athletes in the fundraising efforts.

“In past years, it has been hard to get contribution from other athletes, but the amount of support we’ve gotten recently has been something special,” Dosenberry said. “As athletes, we get the stereotype that we’re just ‘jocks,’ but this donation just shows that we have a group that cares strongly about this community.”

Each GVSU varsity team is responsible for raising money for the foundation, and there’s no shortage in participation by the teams. Some of the events include hosting 50/50 raffles during sporting events, the track and field team hosting an annual car wash, holiday oriented “candy grams” organized by the SAAC, and selling outdated team spirit wear.

In effort to raise student-athlete participation, each coach has a penny jar in their office for athletes to donate change to the foundation. The coach with the most pennies by the end of the year gets “pied” in the face by the team’s student-athletes.

“It’s a way that we try to make fundraising even more fun,” Dosenberry said.

Associate athletics director and current SAAC adviser Erika Wallace said the act of giving back is a lesson that will last forever.

“My favorite part is getting to know the student athletes and seeing them work together for a great cause,” Wallace said. “We hope they can learn this love of giving back and carry it with them long after they leave GV and continue to give back, benefiting their personal and professional lives for years to come.”

Although the SAAC has been pleased with the amount raised the past year, they look to not hit, but surpass its goal of $10,000 raised for 2016-17 school year.

“So far at Grand Valley, none of the SAAC committees have raised over $10,000, and since day one as president I have made sure that we do everything in our power to exceed that goal,” Dosenberry said. “It’s not a want, but a need to meet this goal. That $10,000 can make so many wishes come true.”

The SAAC has planned future events this year, including a talent show and dodgeball tournament that will take place during the second semester.

Source: http://www.lanthorn.com/article/2016/11/make-a-wish-feature

For Winona State University’s student athletes, community engagement isn’t just a requirement, it’s a pillar of the WSU athletic program. Since the start of the 2016-17 school year, WSU athletes already have contributed more than 800 hours of service to the local community.

According to Myranda Nash, Associate Athletic Director, each student athlete must complete four hours of community engagement by the end of the year. Annual events coordinated by WSU student athletes include Make-A-Wish games, Trick or Treat for Cans and Warriors to Readers.

“On behalf of myself and all Winona State athletes, being involved in our community here in Winona is extremely important to us” said Allyson O’Herron, chair of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee Community.

In an effort to make community engagement even more accessible for student athletes, this semester WSU began using an app called “Helper Helper.” Helper Helper is a mobile app and web portal that 370+ NCAA institutions and 95,000 student athletes use to track and coordinate hours of community engagement.

In just a few short weeks, 91 percent of WSU student athletes have downloaded the app to help find volunteer opportunities and organize their volunteer hours.

“As student-athletes, our lives are already busy and unpredictable,” said O’Herron. “Because of our desire to stay involved with the community, having this app to help us organize our community service endeavors is extremely useful.”

At the end of the year, the male and female student athlete with the most volunteer hours will be given a “hometown hero” award. Team scores will also be calculated and a Warrior Cup Champion will be named.

“Our student-athletes are committed to helping others and I expect to see those numbers represented in all of the wonderful things they accomplish this year,” said Nash. “This app gives everyone equal access to report good deeds within our community. We’re still working out the kinks of teaching everyone how it works, but I expect this to be beneficial to our community and student-athletes.”

From Winona.edu – written by Kassidy Jackson

This past Monday was the fifth annual Trick or Treat for Cans outing.

Student-athletes from all 15 Winona State sports went door-to-door on Monday night, collecting canned goods and non-perishable food items that were donated to the Winona Food Pantry. The Warriors were able to collect 3,320 pounds of food during their fifth-annual ‘Trick or Treat for Cans’ event while also accumulating $231 in donations.

“Our student-athletes enjoy this event each year and especially enjoyed meeting so many members of our community who are giving back this year,” said Associate Athletic Director Myranda Nash.

The Winona State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) divided the city of Winona into areas, with each team taking a section of the city and collecting donations. The student-athletes took advantage of the 90 minutes they were given to collect as many food items as possible. The drive began at 6:30 p.m. and all teams returned with their donations by 8:00 p.m.

“We are so proud of our student-athlete’s commitment to serving and with the massive help of those who donated to help fill the Food Shelf before this Holiday season,” said Nash.
Women’s Golf took home the prize of most cans collected per capita at 25 items each, while the Women’s Soccer team took home team’s best costume.

Source: http://www.winonastatewarriors.com/news/2016/11/4/community-service-warriors-give-back.aspx?path=commservice

FLEMINGSBURG – Many believe that sports are a way to give back to the community and teach important life lessons.

Fleming County athletic director Kevin Fulton, girls’ basketball coach Melanie Rogers and boys’ basketball coach Matt Taylor had the opportunity to discuss the community involvement efforts of the athletic programs from the school during the Fleming County Rotary Club meeting at the Fleming County Hospital on Tuesday.

“When I interviewed for the job, I told them in the committee that whether you like it or not, athletics are the front porch of your school,” said Fulton. “People are going to judge your school on how your athletes look, how they act, how their grades are and what they do in their community. I believe it’s a great thing in building character amongst our kids to put pressure on them to be great role models.”

Fulton, who was named athletic director over the summer, will be assisted in his efforts by the coaches at the school, including Rogers and Taylor, who are both entering their first season at Fleming County.

The student athletes have already been involved in several community service activities, like helping to clean up the elementary school during the summer and working side by side with rotary club members during the Fleming County Court Days.

“The sports programs do a lot of different things. Not only are they teaching kids about whatever sport they’re participating in, but they’re trying to teach them about being a good community member and giving back to your community, and that is important,” said Fleming County Rotary Club president Rebecca McGinnis. “There are so many civic organizations here in Flemingsburg, and we all are giving back to our community, so it’s nice to see those young people learning those values.

“To get it from their coaches, their athletic director – to see that importance of giving back – it may be just little things, but volunteering is so important, and you can learn so much about so many different aspects,” added McGinnis. “It’s not all about picking up trash and things like that, but it’s the morals and values that are instilled in these young people’s lives that help them continue on to be good leaders in our community.”

While it may be difficult to stay involved during the season, the teams are already thinking of more ways they can get help the community.

“We’re going to get involved a heck of a lot more when we’re not grinding it out and getting prepared for a game,” said Taylor. “That’s kind of where we are now, is just conceptualizing what’s next in the cleanup process, or for lack of better words, the community service process.”

The coaches are also hoping that the efforts on the court will continue to grow with the efforts within the community.

“Playing against Fleming County – it was a tough game,” said Rogers. “I played at Rowan County and we hated coming here. We always knew that when we walked in the Den, it was going to be a fight until the end, and I want to continue that tradition.”

These efforts might already be paying dividends, as the Panthers’ football team beat Lawrence County on Friday, 29-22, on a touchdown within the final 15 seconds, for their first playoff win since the 2012 season.

And no matter what happens on Friday when the football team travels to Belfry for their second round playoff game, or on the court this winter, the coaches and administrators are hoping that the athletes will have pride in what they’ve accomplished and will be able to use what they’ve learned in their futures.

“I want the kids who graduate from Fleming County to have pride in wearing black and gold, to have pride in being a Panther and have pride in being a citizen of Fleming County,” said Fulton.

Source: http://www.maysville-online.com/sports/fleming-county-sports-instilling-community-values/article_a1b8f944-39f2-5429-820d-55c9f3bb13c0.html

Sewanhaka High School Key Club members volunteered at the annual Lupus Walk held at Eisenhower Park on Oct. 16.
Adviser Diane Ondris and club members served breakfast and lunch to participants at the event. Sewanhaka Key Club is happy to be able to participate in this event for a second year in a row.

Photo Caption: Sewanhaka students Rebecca Rodriguez, Shafaq Khan, Suhana Choudhury, Arianna Vandezande and Aleena Thomas volunteered at the event.

Photo courtesy of the Sewanhaka Central High School District