• UMD student-athletes and staff logged approximately 2,100 volunteer hours during the 2015-16 school year. UMD athletics launched a new mentoring program at Duluth’s Laura MacArthur Elementary School, matching young boys and girls with 88 Bulldogs.

• Members of the UMD tennis team undertook a first-time project, “Bulldogs Not Bullies” in which they visited classrooms at Duluth elementary school and spoke to over 2,000 students about bullying.

• In addition to volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club, Churches United in Ministry (CHUM), the Damiano Center Kid’s Cafe, Arrowhead Juvenile Center, Second Harvest Food Bank, Minnesota Teen Challenge, Men as Peacemakers, and numerous local elementary schools (reading), churches, hospitals and youth sports organizations such as the Salvation Army Basketball League, the Duluth Amateur Hockey Association, the Duluth Girls Hockey Association, and Duluth Little League Baseball/Softball, the Bulldogs also were involved in a large number of charitable endeavors such as Mentor Duluth (Big Brothers/Big Sisters), Salvation Army’s Adopt-A-Family, Habitat for Humanity, Adopt-A-Highway, Special Olympics, Make-A-Wish, the ALS Blizzard Tour, Essentia Health’s Breast Cancer Awareness, UMD’s Stop Domestic Violence Campaign, Lions Club Pancake Day, Locks of Love, Think Pink Night, American Cancer Society Relay for Life, UDAC’s Walk a Mile in Our Shoes Walkathon, It’s A Slam Dunk…Don’t Drive Drunk, Grandma’s Marathon, and the ALS Walleye Tournament.

• Through sales of UMD camouflage hats and commemorative coins along with individual donations, UMD raised just over $4,100 for Operation One Voice as part of the Bulldogs’ second annual Military Appreciation Night at James S. Malosky Stadium on Sept. 12 Operation One Voice is a program designed by police officers, firefighters and community leaders to generate funds to help support the immediate needs of children and families of wounded and fallen Special Operations Forces.

• Seven individuals – the second-largest group ever — were named finalists for the Shjon Podein Community Service Award, which has been presented annually since 2003 to a UMD student-athlete who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the field of play and has made noteworthy humanitarian contributions in the Duluth and University communities. That honor was bestowed on senior soccer forward Kate McMahon at UMD’s Dinner With Champions banquet in April.

To learn more please visit: http://umdbulldogs.com/news/2016/6/30/general-record-gpa-record-attendance-among-umds-2015-16-athletic-highlights.aspx

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of North Dakota’s 447 student-athletes logged nearly 10,000 hours of community service during the 2015-16 school year, averaging more than 21 hours per student-athlete and shattering department records in both categories.

UND’s community service totaled 9,513.7 hours in 2015-16, eclipsing the previous mark of 8,049.5 set in 2014-15. The per-student-athlete average of 21.28 also toppled the 2014-15 school record of 19.88 hours per athlete.

UND Athletics began tracking community service hours in 2008-09, when it transitioned to the NCAA Division I level during Brian Faison’s first year as athletics director.

“Service to the community is an important core value for UND Athletics,” said Faison. “It is incredibly gratifying to see our student-athletes so committed to giving back to the community that supports them.”

Each one of UND’s 17 teams averaged at least 10 hours of community service per student-athlete and each team totaled at least 98 hours. Head coach Brian Idalski’s women’s hockey team led the department in both total hours (1,428.25) and hours per student-athlete (57.13).

Most Total Hours in 2015-16: 1. Women’s hockey (1,428.25); 2. Women’s swimming & diving (1,182); 3. Football (1,119.75); 4. Women’s track & field/cross country (769.25); 5. Softball (658.15)

Most Total Hours Per Student-Athlete: Women’s hockey (57.13); 2. Volleyball (39.32); 3. Women’s tennis (35.65); 4. Women’s swimming & diving (33.77); 5. Men’s tennis (32.13)

UND Athletics Community Service Hours
2008-09: 5,595.0
2009-10: 6,845.0
2010-11: 7.132.9
2011-12: 6,598.5
2012-13: 7.660.3
2013-14: 7,420.6
2014-15: 8,049.5
2015-16: 9,513.7

Any organization seeking the volunteer service of UND student-athletes should contact UND Athletics Assistant Director of Marketing Alex Kroke at 701.777.3666 or alexander.kroke@athletics.und.edu.

Princeton University Tigers Read Storybooks At Grade Schools, Also Went To Vietnam for the Coach for College

Princeton University’s athletic teams – the Princeton Tigers, made their recent trip to Littlebrook Elementary School. The Princeton Tigers exchanged their textbooks for storybooks on trains, sharks as well as potatoes.

The Princeton Varsity Club made it easier for the Princeton varsity student-athletes represent a variety of sports and be entitled to local elementary schools as part of Reading with the Tigers.

The Princeton varsity student-athletes made a multiple school visits a year, and the student-athletes then read to schoolchildren in grade level ranging from kindergarten through fifth grade, based on the report of News at Princeton.

The Princeton Varsity Club has formed collaborations with Princeton’s and Trenton’s elementary schools. The most recent stop by of the student-athletes was at the Christopher Columbus Elementary School.

During the academic year 2015-16, the Reading with the Tigers program has expanded through a partnership with the University’s Office of Community and Regional Affairs – as a result, the Tiger student-athletes visited five educational institutions.

Mollie Marcoux, Ford Family Director of Athletics and a member of the Class of 1991, stated that their athletic program aims to complement and enhance the educational mission of the University. And the program aims to provide their student-athletes with the opportunity to lead, to serve and to achieve.

Marcoux also said that the program is a wonderful opportunity to connect with the surrounding community.

However, seven Princeton student-athletes were selected during the summer of 2016 to travel to Vietnam to volunteer for Coach for College. The Princeton student-athletes’ trip is a global initiative aimed to further the progress of higher education through sports, according to Princeton Varsity Club.

Over the course of three weeks, the seven Princeton student-athletes made an enlightenment about life skills, sports and academics. The Princeton Varsity Club shouldered the funds for the majority of the necessary expenses that corresponds with the charitable service trip.

Source: http://www.universityherald.com/articles/34067/20160712/princeton-university-tigers-read-storybooks-at-grade-schools-also-went-to-vietnam-for-the-coach-for-college.htm

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Athletics not only excelled on the field in 2015-16, with five conference titles and a bowl championship, but it also set new a benchmark off the field through the Hilltoppers with Heart community service program.

Hilltoppers with Heart is designed to give WKU student-athletes, coaches and staff the unique opportunity to make an impact in their community by volunteering their time and talent with numerous organizations. After contributing over 2,000 hours of service in the community in 2014-15, WKU Athletics set the new benchmark for the program in 2015-16 by eclipsing the 3,000 hour mark. Since its inception, the community outreach initiative has now contributed over 9,000 hours of community service.

“A primary goal of WKU Athletics is to have a positive impact in our community by making a meaningful contribution in every way possible,” said Director of Athletics Todd Stewart. “There is no greater endeavor than giving your time to benefit others. We are all fortunate to be a part of a great south central Kentucky community, and I commend our athletes, coaches and administration for their dedication to helping our region.”

Recent volunteer efforts WKU student-athletes and coaches have participated in include the One Shirt, One Body and the Day of Caring campaigns.

One Shirt, One Body is an NCAA wide event created by student-athletes at Notre Dame dedicated to uniting student-athletes and the community by donating gently used clothing items to those in need, specifically through athletic gear.

Boxes were set out in all the team’s locker rooms for players to donate their gently used apparel. The donations were collected and WKU athletes from football, women’s basketball, women’s golf and volleyball handed out the donation to the local kids.

2015-16 marked the fifth year WKU staff and athletes participated in the Day of Caring, a program designed to partner with local non-profit organizations to complete more than 70 projects across the region.

Other notable Hilltoppers with Heart volunteering efforts for the 2015-16 academic year include volleyball’s continued strong participation with the Hope For Harlie foundation, softball’s Big Red Readers initiative and football’s involvement in the Feeding South Florida campaign.

Passport Health Plan, founded in 2011, is the presenting sponsor of Hilltoppers with Heart. Passport Health Plan is designed to give WKU student-athletes, coaches and staff the unique opportunity to make an impact in the community by volunteering time and talent with numerous organizations including The United Way, Boys and Girls Clubs, local schools and many more. Passport Health Plan is a provider-sponsored, non-profit, community-based Medicaid health plan that has been contracted with Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services to administer Medicaid benefits since 1997. Medicaid members can choose Passport to be their health care provider, and as of June 30, 2014, there are more than 6,300 Passport members living in Region 4, which includes Warren County and the campus of Western Kentucky University.

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Lycoming College athletic department continued to raise the bar for community service and fundraising during the 2015-16 academic year, raising more than $8,000 for local charities and dedicating more than 1,000 hours to local community service.

“I am always amazed at our student-athletes willingness to get involved and help when schoolwork and athletics seems to take so much of their time,” Director of Athletics Mike Clark said. “In the past three years alone, we have dedicated more than 3,000 hours of service and raised almost $23,000 for charity. I am incredibly proud of the department’s efforts to step in and help the greater Lycoming community.”

Most of the athletic department’s funds were raised in support of the fight against cancer, with the cheerleading, cross country, football, softball, swimming, volleyball, women’s soccer and women’s basketball teams combining to raise $4,060 during the college’s Relay For Life event. Volleyball led the way at the event, raising $2,322.

The men’s lacrosse team also chipped into the fight against cancer, raising $2,522 in the fall to participate in a HEADstrong fall lacrosse tournament. The women’s soccer team pulled in nearly $700 for a fundraiser in awareness of blood cancer in the fall and the women’s lacrosse team raised $120 for Team Molly, which raises awareness for Ewing Sarcoma. The swim team’s meanwhile, also raised $100 during the Ted Mullin Hour of Power for Sarcoma Research and $50 more during the Snowden Library’s American Cancer Society Read-In.

The football team also raised $200 during their Be The Match Bone Marrow Drive.

The department also had a large hand in community service in the Williamsport area. The football team’s freshmen helped with cleanup at Sunnybrook Meadows and on the Loyalsock Trail in August during the college’s orientation. The men’s basketball team read to kindergartners at both Rommelt Elementary School in South Williamsport and Schick Elementary School in Loyalsock Township.

The women’s basketball team raised $300 for the Lycoming County SPCA during its annual Hoops for Hounds Tournament and also volunteered at the SPCA’s Paws for Cause 5K in April. The women’s lacrosse team donated its time for a Family Promise Coat Drive in December.

The Lycoming College wrestling team helped with the Montoursville Midget Wrestling Tournaments and technique clinics held in January and February, helping to do set-up, work the mat tables during the tournament and teardown at the three tournaments. The men’s soccer team also volunteered their services for youth officiating at the Liberty Sports Arena.

The football team hosted Be the Match Registry as part of the Get in the Game campaign, working a bone marrow testing drive in April, where more than 100 people registered as possible bone marrow donors. In two years of hosting the event, the Warriors have added more than 300 donors to the Be The Match Registry.

More than 125 Warrior athletes spent the morning of April 17 working with Favors Forward. With a large contingent of football, cross country, volleyball and women’s soccer athletes, the teams spent the day working with the Williamsport organization during its Day of Caring, doing various works around the Lycoming County area, which mostly included doing yard work for senior citizens and those physically unable to do yard work.

To cap off the year, on April 22, the lacrosse, soccer and football teams helped run the annual sports clinic for the fifth-grade class of Rommelt Middle School in South Williamsport, Pa., at the college’s Shangraw Athletic Complex.