CHICAGO – Joe Hanel was inspired to do something a little on the unique side for a Division I student-athlete.

The starting center on last season’s basketball team has organized a service trip to Guatemala accompanied by eight other Blue Demons who will volunteer their time and effort helping out at an orphanage for abandoned and at-risk children.

They leave on Saturday for Casa San Andres in Parramos which is 16 miles from Antigua and one hour northwest of the capital of Guatemala City.

Joining Hanel are Kelly Campbell of women’s basketball, Sebastian Feyersinger of men’s track and field, Ronnie Griggs of men’s golf, Amani Hardrict of women’s track and field, Anton Sell of men’s soccer and Sonia Johnson, Vanessa Nigg and Elizabeth Parilli of women’s soccer. The group’s chaperones are Ben Gutman of Athletics Academic Advising and Tom Judge of University Ministry.

Coordinating the trip is NPH USA (Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos) which is Spanish for “Our Little Brothers and Sisters.” NPH is raising more than 3,200 orphaned, abandoned and disadvantaged children in Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru.

Hanel and his fellow volunteers will spend the next week on a 25-acre home for at-risk and abandoned children located in Guatemala’s highlands 4,900 feet above sea level. Casa San Andres includes homes, dormitories, a school (grades K-9), a clinic, a farm, library, computer room and greenhouse while also providing vocational workshops in baking, cooking, carpentry, metalwork and sewing.

There is also staff and volunteer housing along with Castillo Magico, a home for children with specials needs inside the NPH grounds that provides 24-hour care for over 20 children with severe disabilities and neurological issues.

“We’re going to an orphanage with a big kitchen, a soccer field and dorms,” Hanel said. “We’re going to work at Casa San Andres, plant and harvest crops and help prepare meals for more than 300 children. We’ll do some painting and construction work. All the children have chores to perform, and we’ll also help take care of the younger children.

“Beginning around 7 a.m., we’ll work with the kids on their chores. They attend school from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., break for lunch and resume classes until 4 p.m. While they’re in school, we’ll continue working around the orphanage.”

As a high school student-athlete, Hanel went on a similar trip to the Honduras. He approached DePaul Athletics Director Jean Lenti Ponsetto about a Blue Demon service project.

“My first time was unbelievable, a life-changing experience in another part of the world,” Hanel said. “It changes your view on life, and I came back with a different perspective.

These people have to work every day, and if you don’t work—you don’t eat. It opened my eyes to be more aware of helping the people around you.

“I wanted my fellow student-athletes to have an experience like that.”

Hanel was fully prepared to engage in a fundraising effort to cover the trip’s expenses. Guatemala, which has been devastated by 35 years of civil war, has more than half the population living below the poverty line.

“I went to Jeanne to see if we could use DePaul events for the fundraising,” Hanel said. “Jeanne went out of her way and found a donor for us. It was unbelievable on her part to do that for us.”

Candidates for the trip filled out an application, and there were more than twice as many applicants as spaces available.

“The worst part of this whole process was cutting down the list because they were all great candidates,” Hanel said. “That’s a testament to DePaul athletics and the emphasis on values and service that so many people signed up.”

Gutman nodded his head in agreement.

“Having an overflow of candidates for this trip speaks to the quality of the student-athletes that coaches at DePaul recruit,” Gutman said. “Sports, academics and character are flowing through this program at every turn.

“Joe has made the most of this leadership opportunity. He started from scratch with this idea and engaged Tom Judge and myself in this project.

“Joe realizes what athletics have brought him, and now he wants to give back and share some of those privileges that he enjoys.”

What Hanel remembers most of all from his first NPH trip was the reaction of the children.

“After school, we can hang out with the kids, play soccer and other games and form relationships,” Hanel said. “They are so clever and fun-loving in the games they make up. Despite having so little, they find ways to play games. They have virtually nothing, and yet they have so much energy and joy.

“They are so clever. We’re the newcomers, and they have fun playing little jokes on us.”

Source: http://www.depaulbluedemons.com/genrel/070617aaa.html

Last Friday, some 30 boys and girls student athletes from various WHS teams took part in a program called “Pump for Players,” The students worked at Beth’s, Casey’s, Long Shoals Marina, and Truman State Park from 8-12 AM and at Sonic from 8-11 AM raising over $ 1,000 for the WHS Booster Club. The athletes received tips from all of the businesses and Sonic graciously gave the school 10% of all sales. They also worked at various other locations around town.

The weather looked to be a problem for awhile but the rain storm moved out around eight, and the day turned out to be very pleasant for this time of the year.
Senior Hannah Chapman, who worked at Beth’s receiving over $150.00 in tips, said “It was great fun and the customers were very generous. I am very thankful for the small businesses giving us this opportunity.”

New Head Football Coach Ryan Boyer commented on their community service , “Coach Randy Morrow always had the football team involved with the community when I was here as a student and it was a rewarding experience. The school is always asking for money and I believe we need to give something back to the community to show our deep appreciation and gratitude. It is also teaching the kids responsibility. We helped out at the rodeo on Thursday and we plan on being involved with Heritage Days.”

WHS Track and Girls Basketball Coach Cody Morgan gathered his kids together on the football field last week and explained the importance of community involvement. Morgan told the students, “ Local businesses are constantly being asked to donate to the school and they do a great job. We need to show our appreciation for their loyal support.”

The kids have responded in a big way as they have also been painting the weight room and around the football field this summer.
Coach Boyer added, “We want to thank all of the businesses for their generosity and we hope we can continue to serve the community in any way possible.”

Source: Johnie Logue Sports Reporter
http://www.bentoncountyenterprise.com/news/article_fc119240-6337-11e7-b5cf-0f0a7503ea49.html

Students from West Islip’s Bayview Elementary School recently participated in the St. Jude Math-A-Thon, raising $1,914 for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“This is an annual occurrence at Bayview, where through the years, we have raised over $10,000 for the children and their families that are affected by various childhood cancers,” said teacher Justin DeMaio. “The students had an opportunity to complete math problems with the intention of saving someone’s life, and that speaks volumes. Not only do the children practice math skills, but they help someone at the same time.”

Bayview St. Jude: Students from West Islip’s Bayview Elementary School raised $1,914 for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as part of the annual St. Jude Math-A-Thon,

By Todd Vinyard, Special to CatamountSports.com

Service to others is more than something Western Carolina football coach Mark Speir talks about with his team. Speir demonstrates it with his involvement in a variety of efforts.

Speir recently spent 17 days in some of the wildest parts of Alaska with his son Zeb, a quarterback on the Appalachian State football team, working with a group called Operation Heal Our Patriots. The ministry project of Samaritan’s Purse focuses on bringing spiritual and marriage enrichment to wounded and injured U.S. military service members and their spouses.

“Ever since I found out about this ministry and what it does for veterans and their spouses who have given so much to us, it has been on my heart to help,” Speir said. “And then to get to go with my son Zeb was very special. He has three semesters left at App State, and then he is going to have his own life. It was eye opening for us to see these veterans and the work this program does. Like most volunteer situations, we got more out of it than the people we served. It was an awesome week.”

Speir began working with Operation Heal Our Patriots while he was an assistant coach at Appalachian State (2003-2011). His wife Paige used to work for the Samaritan Purse organization, and they both helped during the creation of the Samaritan Lodge Alaska, which is in the southwestern part of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. This time, Speir and his son spent time doing maintenance work to the property and getting to know the veterans and their spouses.

“It is impressive to see how the program has grown,” Speir said. “They bring in 10 couples and all expenses are paid. They have time to do things together and reconnect. The unique thing about this program is that it helps spouses, male and female, too. The spouses often are the primary caregivers, and there is a high divorce rate with the difficulties and challenges of the relationship once these brave soldiers come home. This program gives couples ways to cope, and when they leave helps them find local churches and ministers to keep getting support. There is fantastic follow up with this program that makes a difference in the lives of these couples.”

He added, “When you meet them, you are blown away with what they have done for all of us in our country. I am a patriotic guy with several family members who have and are now serving in the military, so this was something I wanted to support.”

Speir regularly supports Operation Heal Our Patriots with a motorcycle ride event that raised more than $16,000 for the group this year. The money helped send three couples to Alaska.

This summer’s trip included everything from sanding to laying down carpet by the two Speirs, who after the work was done took advantage of the extra summer daylight in Alaska. The duo did some king salmon fishing and hiked the close to 4,000-foot elevation of Tanalian Mountain in Port Alsworth, Alaska, which is 175 miles west-southwest of Anchorage. Coach Speir enjoyed some rare time away from his cell phone with the lack of service and some quality father and son time.

“Seeing these veterans and thinking about what their service means for our country was really powerful,” Zeb Speir said. “Dad talks about service being important and enjoying it, and I did. Also to have 17 days where we were together every day was very special. It was a great time with my dad.”

Before leaving on the trip, Coach Speir left a video message for the Catamount team that he has directed since 2011. Along with leading the Catamounts to back-to-back seven-win seasons in both 2014 and 2015, including the first winning record in a decade, Speir puts a high importance on players serving the community they play and go to school in.

“I missed our first team meeting, so I did a video where I told the players that we preach family; and this is me living those talks. It may be the last time I can do this with Zeb,” Speir said. “I’m going to go out and do this with my son. To be able to do this for these fantastic veterans and do it with my son was a super opportunity for me to serve.”

The Catamount football team knows about service. Last year they did close to 300 community service hours with everything from helping at a food bank, walking kids to school, reading to elementary classrooms and helping in the annual “Tuck River Cleanup” in Jackson County. Over the past two years, two Catamounts – Tyson Dickson last year and rising senior Keion Crossen this year – were nominated for the Allstate Good Works team.

“Our players have bought in about the need to give back to the community,” Speir said. “It is a good life lesson for them, and I believe it why more fans have been in the stands every year. Now business people, students, and teachers know our players. They are not just going to watch Catamount football. They are going to watch Keion or Corey Holloway. They know our players. They’ve met them. That interaction is so valuable both ways. We always tell our players that you have a platform as a student-athlete. That platform can be positive or negative. You can’t have all the perks without the responsibility. People see and know what you do.”

Speir works to set a high example himself. The coach has also worked with Samaritan’s Purse to raise more than $100,000 to help rebuild the Memorial Christian Hospital in Bangladesh. He traveled to Bangladesh in 2009 to help provide medical supplies to the hospital.

This latest effort with wounded veterans was another reminder for Speir of the value of giving back. “To hear the veterans and spouses talk about what this is doing in their lives was tremendous,” Speir said. “The spouses talked about how before they came, the felt like they were by themselves and now they had nine other people they could talk to about shared experiences. These people gave so much for our country. I’m happy to have the chance to give back.”

The connections made while giving back included an idea of honoring these veterans by having them come to Cullowhee and help the Cats enter the field by carrying the American flag as the team enters – a tradition Speir brought to Cullowhee in his first season. Speir also will bring in some veterans to speak to players during upcoming practice before the 2017 season to pass along some life lessons.

“In the grind of preseason, it’ll be good to hear from someone who has done so much,” Speir said. “It will be great for players to be around some of these fantastic vets and see people who were willing to give their all and be part of something bigger than themselves. I sincerely appreciate their service, and I’m so glad to have been able to serve them.”

For More Information:
For more information about Operation Heal Our Patriots visit – https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/about-operation-heal-our-patriots/

Fourth-graders at Patti Dieck’s class at Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School in the Amityville Union Free School District participated in the Feed the Need fundraiser. The initiative was started by a student in the neighboring Copiague School District. Hot meals are delivered to the homeless on Sundays. Ms. Dieck’s students donated their character bucks, which they earned for good behavior. Instead, of shopping for themselves at the school store, the students traded in their “bucks” for real dollars which they donated to the cause and raised enough to provide 38 hot meals for those in need.

Photo courtesy of Amityville Union Free School District