Throughout the 2013-2014 academic year, student athletes at DeSales University in Center Valley, Penn., have devoted their time and talents to volunteering in the community.

According to the University’s website, students on at least five varsity teams at DeSales have engaged in service so far this year. The University reports:

…[The baseball team] held their annual Miracle League event in January in which the entire baseball team gives the kids some basic instruction including playing catch with each of the children. The entire team then assists all of the players in a short game inside on the recreation courts. The Miracle League of Lehigh County is an organization which sets up baseball games for special needs children.

[Men’s and women’s basketball] volunteered on what has become an annual trip to the Lehigh Valley Academy in conjunction with the Cops-N-Kids Program. During the fall semester, the teams collected almost 600 books that were donated to the children at LVA. During the visit, the student-athletes read stories to the students, helped them create bookmarks, and autographed their books and bookmarks. Both teams always have a tremendous amount of fun and enjoy their visit with the children at LVA every year.

During the fall semester the [field hockey] team volunteered on several Saturdays with the Miracle League of Northampton County. The first night of pre-season practice, the team went to Palmer Community Center to participate the first time in which they were each paired with buddies that they played two innings of baseball with. The team was paired with the Dodgers, a team with kids ages 5-17 with various physical or developmental handicaps. The team created a terrific connection with their buddies and have been back three more times since the initial visit. The entire team hopes to make a few more visits in the spring once the seasons re-starts.

DeSales University is recommended in The Newman Guide for strong Catholic identity.

– See more at: http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/CatholicEducationDaily/DetailsPage/tabid/102/ArticleID/3026/DeSales-Univ-Student-Athletes-Volunteer-in-Community.aspx#sthash.0OkSqKIJ.dpuf

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Student-athletes and coaches from the Southern Connecticut State University women’s soccer team traveled to the Daniels School in New Haven on Monday as part of an interactive ‘Soccer Haven’ athletic program with students at the school. This program is a team effort between both men’s and women’s programs at several area greater New Haven colleges.

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.

The Seton Hall University Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted the third-annual Gatorade Pong Tournament on Monday, Feb. 24, in the Richie Regan Athletic Center Field House.

Hosted in conjunction with Seton Hall Athletics’ H.A.L.L. (Helping Athletes Learn to be Leaders) Program, the event benefited Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and helped raise awareness about the perils of drinking and driving.

The event lasted nearly three hours and eight Seton Hall varsity programs had representation in the tournament field.

In addition to the competition, attendees participated in an open discussion led by MADD representative Maria Estevez, who shared her personal experiences in hopes of furthering the organization’s meaningful message.

“Gatorade Pong has quickly become one of the most popular events on our calendar,” said Roberto Sasso, Assistant Athletic Director/Student-Athlete Development & Leadership and director of the H.A.L.L. Program. “Our student-athletes enjoy the opportunity to compete against one another and this year, we opened it up to all students and the response was tremendous. The atmosphere was light and positive throughout, but more importantly, our students recognized the significance of the MADD mission and were excited to be a part of such as worthwhile cause.”

“Drunk driving is something that hits close to home for a lot of people and as college students, we have a responsibility to address the dangers and help promote awareness,” added SAAC President and senior men’s swimmer Joey Lacus. “Opportunities to be a part of events like this are a big part of what it means to be a student-athlete; especially here at Seton Hall. The way all of our teams come together to rally around causes like this makes being a Pirate that much more meaningful.”

Men’s soccer senior Kevin Matthews and senior baseball manager John Browning were the big winners of the evening. For their efforts, they received gift cards from local restaurants Tito’s Burritos of South Orange and SuzyQue’s Bar-B-Que.

Seton Hall Athletics would like to thank Tito’s Burritos and SuzyQues Bar-B-Que for their contributions and helping to make the event a success.

All proceeds from the event will go to support MADD and its various initiatives.

About SAAC The Seton Hall Student Athlete Advisory Committee is a committee made up of student-athletes assembled to provide insight on the student-athlete experience. The committee, consisting of members from each varsity team, plans and executes community service events among student-athletes and also explores ways to engage student-athletes with the general student population. The SAAC also offers input on the rules, regulations and policies that affect student-athletes’ lives on NCAA member institution campuses.

About Mothers Against Drunk Driving Founded by a mother whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver, Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) is the nation’s largest nonprofit working to protect families from drunk driving and underage drinking. With the help of those who want a safer future, MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving® will end this danger on America’s roads. PowerTalk 21® is the national day for parents to talk with their kids about alcohol, using the proven strategies of the Power of ParentsTM to reduce the risk of underage drinking. And as one of the largest victim services organizations in the U.S., MADD also supports drunk and drugged driving victims and survivors at no charge, serving one person every nine minutes through local MADD victim advocates and at 1-877-MADD-HELP. Learn more at www.madd.org or by calling 1-877-ASK-MADD.

Source: http://www.shupirates.com/genrel/022514aaa.html

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Feb. 25, 2014) – On Saturday, Feb. 22 during the women’s and men’s basketball games at Quealy Gymnasium, the Molloy College cheerleading team had an honorary member for the day. Christine, who is 21 years old and loves cheerleading, suffers from Down Syndrome. Bridget Moore, who is one of Christine’s family members, is currently on the cheerleading squad.

Christine enjoyed the energy of the game and fed off the gym’s crowd on Saturday. She was shy at first, but after warming up, she showed off her flexibility during a time-out putting on a short performance. She was such a big hit that she has been invited to come back and be an honorary member of the team again next year.

“Having honorary members be a part of our team for a day is just as exciting for us as it is for the them,” said Head Cheerleading Coach Caitlin Donach. “We had so much fun having Christine perform with us and we can’t wait to have her back next season.”