STRATFORD, Conn. – Members of the Southern Connecticut State University women’s cross country/track and field team volunteered at the second annual Victoria Soto 5K run on Saturday. The group assisted with a variety of duties, including setup, course marshalling and medal distribution.

This event is just one example of many community outreach events that SCSU student-athletes will take part in during the 2014-15 academic year as part of the Tim Greer Insurance Agency Community Service Cup.

Initiated in September, 2008, the ‘Community Service Cup’ program provides a competitive format that allows student-athletes to gain an enriched experience through engagement with the on-campus and local communities by supporting ventures of traditional citizens, campus community members and peer students and student-athletes. SCSU student-athletes volunteered nearly 4,000 hours of their time to numerous outreach efforts, both on-campus and in Greater New Haven, during the 2013-14 academic year.

Source: http://www.southernctowls.com/news/2014/11/3/GEN_1103144427.aspx

“Whatever their situation is, Santa will find these kids,“ Sheila Callahan said.

Callahan, general manager of Mountain Broadcasting, was one of the volunteers who set up tables to collect unwrapped toys at the entrances to the stadium during the University of Montana vs. Sacramento State football game Saturday. The Mountain Broadcasting Foundation is the group that runs the Griz for Kids fundraiser.

She carefully restacked her table in front of the Adams Center, which was covered in soccer balls, stuffed animals and dolls of Elsa from the Disney movie “Frozen.”

The foundation started a toy drive for low-income families and kids in Missoula about 20 years ago called Mountain of Giving. In 2005, the drive became Griz for Kids when then Griz offensive lineman Chris Orwig approached the group, saying he wanted to help give back to a community that always supported him as a player.

“Between being a student and practice and such he was very busy. So he said how about we have the fundraiser at the game?” Callahan said.

Since then, the annual drive is always chaired by a Griz student athlete. This year the project is helmed by Grizzly football defensive end and Missoula native, Zack Wagenmann.

Wagenmann said he became interested in Griz for Kids last year when his friend and former Griz linebacker Brock Coyle was the chair of the fundraiser. When he was asked to take the lead this year, he gladly accepted.

“I think it’s really important. The community comes out and supports us every Saturday, and it’s cool to be able to give back to that community,” Wagenmann said.

He said members of the football team know there are kids across the state who look up to the student athletes who put on the shoulder pads and jerseys, and they take that aspect of being a role model seriously.

“I remember when I was a kid, going to games and just thinking that those guys were the ones I was looking up to,” Wagenmann said.

Callahan said having Griz athletes spread the word about the fundraiser has allowed the foundation to reach even more people, and help even more kids.

“You’re busy with school, practice, film and the weight room but even a football player can give back,” Callahan said.

The toys and money collected Saturday will be used to help 10 local agencies that work with low income families and children who might not otherwise receive Christmas gifts.

After the collection is finished, Callahan and the other members of the fundraiser will compare the list of what was donated to the wish lists given to them by the kids, then distribute tags with the names of the remaining items listed on them to companies and stores around Missoula the week before Thanksgiving. Shoppers can grab a tag, purchase the gift on it and return the item to the store to be donated to the drive.

“We want to be able to put the gifts under the tree that the kids want,” she said. “It’s all about ‘Frozen’ and Star Wars Legos this year.”

Beach Transportation provides a warehouse to store the toys so the social workers who work with the families don’t have to worry about going out to collect gifts for the holiday, they can just come to pick them up.

The money collected will be used to buy more gifts, especially age ranges that can be difficult to shop for.

“Everyone knows what to buy for a 7- to 10-year-old. But it’s harder to find the right gift for little kids younger than that or older, teenage-age kids,” Callahan said.

Courtesy of http://www.gogriz.com/

Source: http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/grizzly-led-toy-drive-a-way-for-players-to-give/article_4ccdb073-f3e3-59fb-98cd-b137c9c1f982.html

PHILADELPHIA – On Halloween evening, Temple student-athletes from a number of teams participated in the 8th Annual Avenue of Treats, an event that provides a fun and safe atmosphere for trick-or-treating. The student-athletes were located along Broad Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue, handing out candy to local children in costumes.

The annual event is hosted by Beech Community Services, who engages Temple and other local businesses to join their efforts and provide candy to the children who live in and around the community.

Participating Temple sports this year included men’s crew, women’s track & field, lacrosse, field hockey and women’s tennis. Hooter the Owl, cheerleaders and members of the Diamond Gems were also on hand.

“Temple Athletics prides itself in its community service efforts,” said Kevin Clark, Vice President and Director of Athletics, “so having our student-athletes take part in the Avenue of the Treats for the second straight year is just one of many ways we give back to the North Philadelphia community.”

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(COLLEGE STATION, TX)- The Aggies Can drive is the largest student athlete run food drive in the nation and last year they raised more than thirty thousand dollars and twelve thousand pounds of canned goods.

This year they hope to beat that number and with more student groups getting involved and creating friendly competitions, its looks like that will happen.

The president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee says that most athletes are eager to give back to those that are out there rooting them on.

“They do so much for us cheering us on for competitions, whether it be swimming or the soccer game we are at tonight, volleyball or football or any of the sports. Its just a time for us to give back and say thank you for everything they have done for us,” says Kelli Benjamin, the committee president.

People who donated two cans or a dollar were able to get free admission into tonight’s womens soccer game against Georgia and a free Whataburger coupon.

“It’s really not hard to get athletes to come out here and give some of their time and give back to the Brazos valley. Their our twelfth man, it’s time for us to give back to them,” says Benjamin.

Food from the drive is donated to the Brazos Valley Food Bank and is then distributed.

“If you give a dollar this food bank can turn that into five pounds of food or three meals so a dollar is not too small of a donation at all. So really what I like to say is don’t think about giving or ‘oh i heard about aggie can i should go out.’ Just do it. Make sure that you give. It’s a great opportunity and no sweat off your back,” says Theresa Mangapora, the Executive Director of the Brazos Valley Food Bank.

Some of the food will be donated to Texas A & M’s school food bank, 12th Can.

“We all know it’s hard to concentrate when you are hungry. So we want those students to have the best opportunities that they can while at Texas A & M. So some of this money is going to go to that,” says Mangapora.

You can still donate to Aggie Can at the football game this Saturday for a free Whataburger coupon or mail monetary donations to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.

Make all checks out to Aggies Can

Mail all monetary donations to:

SAAC

PO Box 30017

College Station, TX 77842-3017

Source: http://kagstv.com/News/KAGSNews/ID/6127/Aggies-BTHO-Hunger

INDIANAPOLIS- Members of the Greyhound men’s and women’s track and field, and the men’s and women’s tennis teams spent their Saturday morning volunteering at the first annual Hound Hustle 5K as a part of UIndy Homecoming 2014.
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The track and field team participated in support of Kathy Stickney, a chemistry professor who helped organize the event, as a way to give back to her for her support of the Greyhound Track and Field program. All of the Greyhound student-athletes assisted with directing runners, as well as passing out water and bandanas to the participants. The UIndy student-athletes also encouraged the runners along the course.

“It was cool to see people of all ages come together and run the race,” Austin Aten of UIndy Men’s Tennis said. “We are glad they got to see the campus and the surrounding UIndy community.”

The UIndy tracksters open their season Dec. 6 in the ARC, hosting the Gerry England Alumni Open, while UIndy Tennis has closed out its fall season and looks forward to opening its spring season in early February.

Source: http://athletics.uindy.edu/news/2014/10/28/SAAC_1028142201.aspx?path=saac