During the indoor Dartmouth Relays, nestled between collegiate races, is a very special race: the Grafton County One-Lapper. The race, in which children take to the track, is one of the most uplifting things I’ve witnessed.

One little girl in particular drew tremendous cheers and countless high fives as she made her lap. Beth, a young adopted member of the Dartmouth women’s track and field team, looked around at her fans and could not stop smiling.

Between travel and games, a rigorous practice schedule and team meetings, athletes are some of the busiest people I’ve met at Dartmouth. Yet despite demanding schedules, many Big Green athletes find time to give back to the Upper Valley community. In my last column, I wrote about the impact Dartmouth athletes had on me growing up in Hanover — yes, I have run the Grafton County One-Lapper — but the community’s impact on student-athletes is equally important.

Dartmouth Peak Performance strives to help student-athletes achieve high levels of “academic, athletic and personal growth,” during their time at Dartmouth. One way DP2 helps foster personal growth is by encouraging athletes to contribute to the Upper Valley community, often through partnership with the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth.

Several Dartmouth teams have “adopted” children receiving treatment at CHaD, offering them and their families support. By welcoming Beth, the women’s track team has committed to supporting her family.

We visited Beth at CHaD, got to know her parents and sent birthday and holiday cards. Beth has come to several track practices, and there are few things more joyous than seeing her run along the inside of the track with her buddies. Since she was brought into the Big Green track family three years ago, the team has seen Beth grow tremendously.

Dartmouth athletes also cook dinners at David’s House, a support center providing low- or no-cost housing for the families of children receiving care at CHaD. David’s House, located adjacent to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock campus, runs on donations and volunteers to provide meals to families. Each Sunday men’s lacrosse players visit to cook and serve meals, play with kids and meet volunteers. Beyond meeting community members, volunteering lets athletes get to know their teammates in a different setting.

Last fall, Dartmouth athletes from several teams volunteered at the CHaD Hero Half Marathon and five-kilometer races. The races, which feature start and finish lines on the Dartmouth Green, drew thousands of participants. Nordic skier Erik Fagerstrom ’14 and his teammates handed out medals at the finish line, assisted with the obstacle course and helped clean up.

Many Dartmouth student-athletes also volunteer at the Special Olympics each season. At the January Winter Games at the Dartmouth Skiway, varsity athletes from nine teams volunteered as helpers, at the food table or the awards podium.

Dartmouth athletes deserve cheers not just for what they do when fans are watching, but also for what they do off the field. Volunteering is a way to get outside the Dartmouth bubble, do something meaningful, learn and in a small way make the community we all share a better place. Fagerstrom said for him and his ski teammates “it’s about showing up and showing support.”

Despite losing touch after studying abroad and retiring from the track and field team, getting to know Beth was a valuable part of my experience as an athlete at Dartmouth. Watching Beth run was moment of joy and reflection, a clear reminder that being a student-athlete is much more than your win-loss record.

Source: http://thedartmouth.com/2014/04/17/sports/a-view-from-the-woods-2

THROGGS NECK, N.Y. (April 15, 2014) – Last Sunday, April 6, over 50 Privateer student-athletes volunteered their time to help Maritime Athletics host its Inaugural Special Olympics New York Swim Meet as a kickoff event for 2014 NCAA Division III Week on campus. It was a really fantastic day and “feel-good” event all-around for everyone involved.

“I am very pleased that we were able to partner with Special Olympics NY and have this kickoff event for NCAA Division III week”, commented Maritime’s second-year Director of Athletics Heather MacCulloch. “The event was a great way to give our S.A.A.C. and swim teams the opportunity to assist us in using this platform to send a message that when athletes are engaged with other athletes in a competition setting, the differences melt away and the playing field is leveled through the similarity of sport.”

Members of the Maritime Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (S.A.A.C.) and the Privateer men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams arrived early to help set up the Riesenberg Hall Gymnasium for the Opening Ceremonies, which they were a big part of and then stayed through the entire aquatics competition in the pool, lending their hands in a variety of ways.

The Opening Ceremonies started with a parade of teams around the Riesenberg Gymnasium led by Maritime mascot Privateer Pete. Pete led the way for nearly 70 Special Olympics athletes representing five different clubs in attendance – the Cross Island Y, the Mid-Island Y, the Huntington Y and Brookhaven from Long Island and the Hudson Valley Y from Westchester County. The Olympic Torch Run followed, as a member from each team got to be a part of the relay, with the volunteers following close behind, and ended with the singing of the National Anthem by Maritime senior Kyron Cooper.

The Special Olympic athletes recited their oath, “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” and then after a quick word by Maritime Aquatics Director Jim Downey, welcoming and thanking those in attendance for participating, the games were declared open!

The Privateer student-athletes worked very closely to help the Special Olympics athletes prepare for their events during the meet and to get to and from the pool area to the podium area and the stands. But most importantly, those volunteers spent time talking to and mingling with the athletes and cheering them on, making them feel welcomed and admired.

At the end of the meet, there was an opportunity for the Maritime swim team to get in the pool and compete in unified relays with the Special Olympics athletes. It was a great way to end a fantastic day, bringing both the Maritime student-athletes and the Special Olympics Athletes even closer together.

The entire day further proved that the partnership between NCAA Division III and the Special Olympics is strong and very evident. This will be an annual event at Maritime with hopes of expanding to include more local teams.

“Special Olympics New York is very appreciative for all the hard work Maritime Athletics put into the Aquatics Competition,” said Director of Programming Tim Flynn. “The department went above and beyond and exceeded all expectations. I was extremely impressed with the volunteers and the level of support they provided. I am looking forward to this long lasting relationship and improving upon what has been built this year.”

The NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Special Olympics announced their partnership at the 2011 NCAA Convention. It officially launched on August 1, 2011. In the first year of the partnership, 39 NCAA Division III conferences and 101 institutions reported a Special Olympics activity. Of these reported activities approximately 6,800 student-athletes and 9,800 Special Olympics athletes took part and over $118,000 was raised for local Special Olympics chapters. During 2011-12, Special Olympics events were conducted at 22 NCAA Division III championships in 13 states, with over 2,000 student-athletes and 800 Special Olympics athletes participating.

The partnership is designed to improve the lives of Special Olympics athletes through their involvement with Division III student-athletes and to foster a mutual learning experience between Division III student-athletes and Special Olympics athletes. The partnership aligns with the Division III attribute of citizenship in the division’s strategic-positioning platform. The federated structure of Special Olympics organizations around the country provides opportunities for Division III student-athletes in every state to participate in a variety of existing programs or create their own service opportunities.

About Division III: The college experience is a time of learning and growth – a chance to follow passions and develop potential. For student-athletes in Division III, all of this happens most importantly in the classroom and through earning an academic degree. The Division III experience provides for passionate participation in a competitive athletic environment, where student-athletes push themselves to excellence and build on their academic success with new challenges and life skills. And student-athletes are encouraged to pursue the full passions and find their potential through a comprehensive educational experience. Visit http://www.ncaa.org/divisioniii and http://www.ncaa.org/D3SpecialOlympics for more information.

About Special Olympics: Special Olympics is an international organization that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports everyday around the world. Through work in sports, health education and community building, Special Olympics is addressing inactivity, injustice, intolerance and social isolation by encouraging and empowering people with intellectual disabilities which leads to a more welcoming and inclusive society. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics movement has grown from a few hundred athletes to nearly four million athletes in 170 countries. With the support of more than one million coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics is able to deliver 32 Olympic-type sports and more than 53,000 competitions throughout the year. Visit Special Olympics at http://www.specialolympics.org.

Source: http://www.maritimeathletics.com/news/2014/4/15/GEN_0415145928.aspx

AMHERST, N.Y. – Over the course of the last month, student-athletes and coaches from Daemen College have volunteered their time to help with the efforts of Habitat for Humanity Buffalo, a non-profit organization which aims to give a helping hand to families who otherwise would be unable to achieve their dream of home ownership.

Members of Daemen’s men’s and women’s track & field, cross country, soccer, men’s golf and women’s volleyball, tennis and basketball teams spread out across the Buffalo area to volunteer at eight different work sites on Saturday, March 23, Saturday, April 6 and Saturday, April 13.

During their time at the work site, the teams participated in all kinds of construction-related activities from drywalling to insulating, from sanding to painting.

“On behalf of Daemen College’s coaches and student-athlete participants, I would like to thank Habitat for Humanity Buffalo for allowing us the opportunity to take part in such meaningful projects,” said Daemen Director of Athletics William Morris. “It was a great opportunity for our student-athletes and coaches to get out and help families in our community.”

Morris also gave a strong thanks to Associate Athletic Director/Senior Women’s Administrator Katie Bishop who coordinated the event with administrators from Habitat for Humanity Buffalo, as well as the College’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee which sponsored this community outreach project.

This example of volunteerism demonstrates the Athletic Department’s commitment to the College’s call for servant leadership and the NCAA Division II objective of community engagement.

Source: http://wildcats.daemen.edu/news/2013/4/15/Daemen_Habitat_For_Humanity_2013.aspx

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Student-athletes from the Southern Connecticut State University athletic department traveled to the Beecher School in New Haven on Thursday for another session of the interactive academic program with sixth grade students at the school. Members of the women’s soccer and women’s basketball teams took part in the event, which featured small group sessions. The program will continue weekly throughout the remainder of the academic year.

This program is just one example of many community outreach events that SCSU student-athletes will take part in 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 more than 3,000 hours of their time to numerous outreach efforts, both on-campus and in Greater New Haven, during the 2012-13 academic year.