Labor Day is the unofficial end to summer. It is celebrated with cookouts, picnics and time with family.

For student-athletes it usually means a chance to sleep in, take a day off from practice or the opportunity to make it home for a quick visit. However, for some University of Tennessee at Chattanooga student-athletes, it was a time to give back.

The Mocs cross country and wrestling teams arrived early to man their posts along the Tennessee Riverwalk Monday morning for the annual FCA 5K & 10K.

Members of the wrestling team took up positions on course that traced the Tennessee River to point runners in the right direction, offer encouragement and even call out their times while others manned water stations to help keep the runners hydrated.

The cross country team stood at the finish line congratulating runners and handing out much needed bottles of water while pointing the along to their next stop.

Wrestling head coach Heath Eslinger competed in the 10K race while women’s tennis coach Jeff Clark improved his time in the 5K.

Source: http://gomocs.com/news/2015/9/8/XC_0908150854.aspx

She’s cautious and frightened, not willing to reveal her name. She’s a victim of domestic abuse who fled her home hundreds of miles away with her two young children, determined to save them — and herself.

With a warm dinner set on the table before them, the young mother and her 3-year-old bowed their heads and clasped their hands in prayer, giving thanks, while her infant smiled and cooed from a high chair.

A few feet away sat Tamara Bittner who has ping-ponged between renting a room from her ex-husband and crashing on a neighbor’s couch at night for the past five years. She’s unemployed and is hoping to land a waitressing job so she can get her own place.

Next to her was Carol Carney who used to live with her daughter, she said, though it wasn’t a good situation so she moved out. Her next “home” was at a friend’s house, but in July she suffered a stroke — and after she was released from the hospital it was time to find somewhere else to go to. She’s a former dog groomer, and said she just can’t do that work anymore. At 61, she’s ready to retire and is pursuing Social Security benefits.

Elsewhere in the makeshift dining room were a dozen or so men of varying ages, seated around a couple tables to enjoy the meal. And there were chairs filled by another mom and her young son, and more women — including one in the later stages of pregnancy.

Each has their own story, their own troubles and dreams. Yet for now, at least, they share a common challenge: Homelessness.

“I never expected to be in this situation,” said Carney. Undoubtedly, she speaks for many — if not all — gathered for the evening meal last Tuesday at North Congregational Church in Farmington Hills. Most were to stay overnight throughout the week, and be fed breakfast and dinner as clients of the non-profit South Oakland Shelter rotating shelter system, which added North Congregational to its list of partners this year.

It’s much-appreciated help, Bittner said. “Without it, I’d just keep walking over to my neighbor’s house every night, and that’s hard,” she said. Instead, she’s moving toward finding employment and her own home, with the help of SOS’s services — which include emergency and transitional shelter, workshops and more.

“I gotta get a job before I can get my own place,” she said.

‘Every little bit helps’

For years, Mary Sheltrown has counted herself among the thousands of metro Detroit SOS volunteers, typically lending a hand with the food prep, serving and clean-up when the rotating sheltering system comes to Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Farmington.

Source: http://www.hometownlife.com/story/news/local/farmington/2015/08/27/farmington-hills-homeless-farmington-high-school-students-athletes-helping/32473205/

Bright and early this morning before fans filled Rogers Stadium, members of the Virginia State University Student-Athletes Advisory Committee were at work in Rogers Stadium parking lot giving back to the community. The Student-Athletes Advisory Committee is comprised of 2 student athlete representatives from every sport.

These past few weeks the Department of Athletics has challenged the various university departments to donate school supplies for the Back to School Drive. Trojan nation prides itself on our impact not only at our university, but in the surrounding communities.,

Thursday ,afternoon Hospitality Management pulled up to the Athletic Office with a truck overflowing with supplies and stuffed bags setting the bar high for the other departments. By the close of business Friday the Trojans had collected enough supplies to have a great impact on the local youth in need of back to school supplies.

“Nothing is more rewarding then to see young people smile., Today, that is what Virginia State University Student-Athletes Advisory Committee (SAAC) did during the Back To School Drive by providing school supplies to over 50 students as they prepare to go back to school,” said Associate Athletic Director for Compliance and SAAC Advisor Deborah Mallory.

For more information on VSU Athletics and their community service projects, follow Trojans Athletics on Twitter @VSUsports, or call 804-524-5030.

Source: http://govsutrojans.com/news/2015/9/5/GEN_0905152215.aspx

Menlo College fall sport student-athletes took time out of their training camps to give back to a community in need earlier this month.

Athletes from men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and cross country organized a two-day servant leadership project to benefit the St. Vincent de Paul San Francisco Shelter.

St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco started in 1860 and now serves more than 1,000 people in need every single day. They rely heavily on volunteers from the local community to make sure facilities are ready and capable to support those in need.

Menlo College athletes and coaches began the service project by forming an assembly line of sorts to prepare bagged lunches for 240 people – a feat they managed to accomplish with remarkable speed and precision, completing the task in just 20 minutes.

Tables were set up inside Haynes-Prim Pavilion on the Menlo campus with athletes making fresh sandwiches — adding assorted food items into bags to be transported to the shelter the next day.

“It was very rewarding to see every one of our student-athletes working together to organize and construct bagged lunches for the shelter,” said head volleyball coach Atlee Frechette. “I loved seeing the enthusiasm on our student-athletes faces and in their actions, knowing they were playing a part in providing a meal to someone less fortunate.”

That Sunday, the student-athletes loaded onto the Caltrain and headed to San Francisco to deliver the bagged lunches and perform various tasks to help with the shelter’s daily operations. Groups of 5 to 15 student-athletes broke off to help the shelter with various tasks including: folding and washing laundry, cleaning beds, cleaning the facility’s kitchen, washing walls and aiding in food preparation.

After nearly three hours of serving the shelter, the Oaks rode Caltrain back to Menlo College and concluded the day with a department bonding event at the campus pool.

“This was both a humbling and inspiring experience,” said cross country head coach Dan Noel. “It was humbling to see how many people wait in line just hoping for a bed for the night and inspiring to work alongside the team at St Vincent de Paul, who dedicate their lives to fighting homelessness in San Francisco. As coaches, we were so proud of how engaged and invested our athletes were in this experience.”

The idea for this project came from the department’s commitment to providing its student-athletes with a servant-minded, well-rounded approach to the intercollegiate athletics experience. Each student-athlete completes 30 hours of community service each year.

“Lending a hand at St. Vincent de Paul was a great experience for the athletes and coaches alike,” said men’s soccer head coach Eric Bucchere. “It helped us understand the bigger picture about being part of the Menlo family and the larger Bay Area Community. At the end of the day we all felt like one Menlo team, and like we made a small difference in a positive way.”

Head women’s soccer coach Keith Lambert agreed.

“This type of activity really exemplifies what we want our student-athletes to experience,” he said. “Often times we get so wrapped up in our own lives and problems that we forget about the bigger picture and that some people struggle with basic needs. St. Vincent de Paul is a fantastic organization doing some much needed work and we were happy to help them that day.”

Source: http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2015/09/01/menlo-college-athletes-give-back-to-a-community-in-need