MADISON, Wis. –UW’s Summer Bridge program concluded on Wednesday with a Badgers Give Back event, as 41 freshmen student-athletes wrote letters to service men and women.

LeAnn Bird of the Office of Academic Services (OAS) said the letters will be sent to members of the Wisconsin National Guard unit who are currently serving overseas.

“We explained the importance of what this would mean to the soldiers and how important it is for Badgers to give back,” Bird said.

Aiming to relieve this transition, the OAS, Office of Student-Athlete Development (OSAD), Compliance and Sports Medicine collaborated for the first time and developed a formal Summer Bridge program for incoming student-athletes at the University of Wisconsin.

“This is a great experience to give back to our service members,” freshman Micah Kapoi of the football team said. “Being from Hawaii, I understand the importance of our military because we were surrounded by many military bases.”

Teams with student-athletes participated in the Summer Bridge program were football, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s hockey, women’s soccer, wrestling and volleyball.

Source: http://www.uwbadgers.com/genrel/073114aaa.html

FREEPORT — Sports can bring pride to a community for what’s done on the field or any other arena.

But at Freeport High School, the athletic programs also gives back in other ways through community service projects throughout the year.

Every athletic program at Freeport is responsible for at least one community service project. Freeport wrestling coach Anthony Dedmond said his program has benefitted from assisting the Salvation Army prepare food packages during Christmas by giving the student/athletes a bit of perspective.

“It’s always nice to give back to the community and show the kids that there’s a need out there and to appreciate what they have,” Dedmond said. “For a kid whose biggest problem is how they’re going to get that new iPhone, it’s good for them to see a family that may be dependant on a box of food or clothing.”

The girls soccer team made and donated blankets to the Sleezer Youth Home and both the girls and boys teams each conducted a practice with athletes from Special Olympics.

Not all community service projects are limited to outside of the program’s field of play. The volleyball team held its annual Breast Cancer Awareness game last October. Players made posters and other decorations, while literature and self-exam cards were handed out. The players sold more than 300 T-shirts to raise $1,423, which was donated to the Leonard C. Ferguson Cancer Center and the Women’s Diagnostic Center at FHN.

The baseball team also played a regular season game with the emphasis on Epilepsy Awareness, where money was raised for the cause.

“The coaches in the community all want to do something to give back,” Dedmond said. “They all want to get their kids involved in it.”

The student/athletes have even picked up a new skills during the project.

“I now know how to cut weeds,” said Freeport cheerleader Ty’Zhauna Piggue, who helped maintain weeding and grooming the Freeport Pretzel City welcome sign on the corner of West and South streets.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Freeport cheerleader and girls basketball player Tomiah Burrow said.

Dedmond said athletic director Jeff Fitzpatrick was responsible for making it mandatory for each athletic program to get involved in one service project, but many programs already implemented initiatives years prior.

Dedmond added that the student/athletes aren’t alone in their community service efforts.

“Parents get involved and distant cousins will as well,” he said. “The coaching staffs will put everything together and the kids enjoy it.”

Read more: http://www.journalstandard.com/article/20140731/Sports/140739852#ixzz39F08OfTr

He’s a household name in the city of Durham and Duke Nation worldwide. It’s no surprise that Grant Hill supports his alma mater.

He has given back to Duke University on several different occasions. It was announced on Wednesday that Hill and his wife, Tamia, are donating $1.25 million to the university that started his basketball career.

Hill specified that Duke Athletics will receive $1 million for facility upgrades and $250,000 will go to the Duke Annual Fund, supporting Trinity College. Trinity College is Duke’s College of Arts and Sciences.

“As an outstanding example of a Duke student-athlete, Grant Hill became a beloved part of Duke’s history,” President Richard H. Brodhead said. “We’re grateful that Grant and Tamia have helped to ensure that Duke’s tradition of academic opportunities and remarkable student-athletes continue well into the future.”

Kevin White, Vice President and Director of Athletics, said Hill “represents the very best of Duke University.”

“This generous gift from Grant and Tamia will enhance the college experience of many future Duke students across several disciplines, including athletics,” White said. “The fact that it comes from someone who is synonymous with the excellence that defines this great institution make it even more special.”

The part of the contribution the Hill family made to the Annual Fund helped the Class of 1994 give $3,062,835 back to the school. That mark was an all-time giving record by a 20th reunion class.

“We are extremely grateful for the Hills’ generous pledge to the Annual Fund on behalf of the Class of 1994,” said the dean of Trinity College, Laurie Patton. “Annual Fund gifts to Trinity College have an immediate impact on the lives of our undergraduates. They enable to administration to act with speed and flexibility to develop innovative undergraduate programs, provide aid to our talented students, and recruit and retain the highest quality faculty.”

Hill was a four-year letterman for Duke back in 1991-94. He was on two National Championship teams (1991 and 1992) and was given honor after honor. He earned All-ACC and All-America accolades as well as being named ACC Player of the Year and National Defensive Player of the Year. He was the first player in the history of the ACC to amass 1,900 points, 700 rebounds, 400 assists, 200 steals and 100 blocked shots over his career. He was selected as the No. 3 overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, selected by the Detroit Pistons.

After his days at Duke, Hill spent 18 seasons in the NBA having playing stints with the Pistons, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers.

“Tamia and I are in a fortunate position to be able to give back to the university that did so much for me,” said Hill. “In the 20 years since my graduation, I am certain that the academic environment, the coaches and staff, and every facet of being a student at Duke contributed to make me a better person.”

Source: http://balldurham.com/2014/07/30/grant-hill-gives-back-1-25-million-duke/

NEWPORT NEWS, Va.—Student-athletes from The George Washington University won the Inaugural Atlantic 10 Conference Assists Challenge, a community service initiative that encouraged the reporting of 24,000 service hours by teams from 11 of the 13 A-10 institutions.

Originating last Fall by the Atlantic 10 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the A-10 Assists Challenge organized community service projects its member teams were engaged in into a fun and competitive activity that increased the visibility and awareness of the A-10 SAAC. The initiative, which accomplishes the A-10 SAAC’s goals of community service engagement and awareness also helps promote both the community service activities the student-athletes complete and the organizations and causes they are assisting. The result was nine of the institutions reported more than 1,000 hours of community service and five of those nine reported more than 2,000 hours. In all, 23,710.25 hours of community service were reported.

“We have amazing student-athletes in the Atlantic 10 — I commend them on having completed nearly 24,000 hours of community service. Volunteerism is an important initiative in this country and the Atlantic 10 Conference is proud to be giving back to each of our communities,” stated Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade.

George Washington was declared the champion based on “institutional point value,” which is determined through a formula that considers total hours completed, number of student-athletes participating and total number of student-athletes at the institution. As a group, GW teams reported 5,130.75 hours of service, resulting in 29.83 points. Saint Joseph’s ended with 3,896 hours and 18.64 points to finish second and Duquesne had 3,475.5 hours, resulting in 18.34 points and third place.

“As an athlete, you have a responsibility to give back to the community because the community is supporting you,” said George Washington soccer player Jane Wallis earlier this year. “You’re an ambassador for the school. It’s part of your brand to give back to something bigger than you.”

Rhode Island rower Abbey Miklitsch said that “It was just nice to give back,” after the Rams community service efforts this year that included a food drive and an obstacle course competition that raised money for charity.

Service hours could be reported from any project the institution chose, but must have been reported by April 22 and could only include projects during the 2013-14 academic year.

For example, St. Bonaventure, through their program called “Little Bonas” met with the local youth once or twice a week for two hours to teach basic soccer skills, the result of which was 25 men’s soccer student-athletes conducting 14 sessions each for a total of over 700 hours. Duquesne’s campus SAAC held a shoe drive to help the organization One World Running. The Dukes collected new and used shoes to be donated, and VCU took part in celebrate!RVA, a group that believes in the magic of birthdays and arranges them for underprivileged children.

Beginning in January, participating institutions were able to track their progress on the Atlantic 10’s new official SAAC page on atlantic10.com. The result was a friendly competition that increased participation and helped further foster the relationship among the A-10 SAAC members.

If there was any doubt about the inaugural A-10 Assists Challenge being successful on an annual basis, that doubt is gone. Using the A-10 SAAC Video competition, which has grown in participation each year as an example, the first Assists Challenge is a harbinger of continued community service success across the A-10.

Source: http://www.atlantic10.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31600&ATCLID=209491445#.U9PZKyrDb3U.twitter

NEW ORLEANS – Mother Nature tried to put a damper on things, but Tulane’s student-athletes would not let a little rain ruin their day as over 60 Green Wave student-athletes held a health and wellness fair on Friday, July 24 for the youth of the Greater New Orleans area.

Local camps from around the area bused children in to spend time with the Green Wave student-athletes on the Tulane campus.

With rain pouring down for the first hour of the event held on Tulane’s LBC Quad, many of the student-athletes and campers took refuge inside the LBC, where the Green Wave student-athletes provided healthy snacks – like grapes and pineapple – for the youngsters.

Once the skies cleared up, everyone returned to the LBC Quad, where races were staged, water gun battles were held and a variety of other activities took place. A slew of inflatable obstacle courses and toys peppered the LBC Quad, allowing the children to have a blast while being active.

In addition to the fun had by all, the Green Wave student-athletes had the opportunity to chat with the children about the importance of proper nutrition and exercise.

“If happiness is what we are truly after, we must seek healthy relationships and habits to support our quest,” stated Academic Student Services Center for Student-Athletes assistant Israel Route.

Those student-athletes that participated included women’s basketball’s Danielle Blagg, Tiffany Dale, Caylah Cruickshank, Kolby Morgan, Adesuwa Ebomwonyi, Jamie Kaplan, Morgan Rogers, Paije Hall and Tierra Jones, swimming and diving’s Lauren Arnold, Jonna Frantz and Claire Schelske, track and field’s Daliadiz Ortiz and Estefany Cruz, men’s basketball’s Jay Hook, Keith Pinckney, Dylan Osetkowski, Josh Hearlihy and Cameron Reynolds, football’s Devon Powell, Darion Monroe, Lorenzo Doss, Sherman Badie, Tyler Gilbert, Nathan Shienle, Brandon LeBeau, Tanzel Smart, Parry Nickerson, Eric Thomas, Eric Bell, Leonard Davis, Quinlan Carroll, Rob Kelley, Andre Robinson, Xavier Rush, Aaron Bryant, Tanner Lee, Marc Edwards, Andrew DiRocco, Logan Hilton, Robert Kennedy, Matthew Bailey, Lazedrick Thompson, Sean Donnelly, Eldrick Washington, Daren Williams, Charles Jones, Justyn Shackleford, Kenneth Santa Marina, Chris Taylor, Devon Johnson, Alex Paul, Peter Woullard, Brandon Godfrey, Royce LaFrance, Eric Bowie, Fletcher Barnes, Dylan Richman, Stephen Lofton and Anthony Taylor, women’s tennis’ Emily Dvorak, Jacqui Katz and Zoe Gaber, men’s tennis’ Ian Van Cott and baseball’s Brady Wilson and Sam Martin.

The health and wellness fair was the final installment in what was a community-service laden summer for many of the Green Wave student-athletes. Each Friday this summer, the Tulane student-athletes ventured out into the Greater New Orleans community in order to improve the lives of those who call this city home.

“This ties into everything we did this summer, as we provided various services around the metropolitan area, touching the lives of many while developing strong relationships in the community,” said Tulane ASC senior academic counselor Charlotte Battiest. “This is what Tulane’s foundation is based upon, and we will continue to nurture and develop the vision of our Director of Athletics, Rick Dickson.”

Over the course of the summer, hundreds of Tulane student-athletes spent countless hours performing community service with a variety of local non-profit organizations, such as KIPP Believe, the Second Harvest Food Bank, the Tulane Cancer Center, the NFL Youth Education Town, the New Orleans Museum of Art, Bridge/Grace House, Youth Rebuilding New Orleans, Children’s Hospital New Orleans, Green Light New Orleans, the St. Paul’s Homecoming Center. Some Tulane student-athletes even participated in community service on and around Tulane’s Uptown campus.

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