The University of the Cumberlands (UC) athletic department has a significant amount of student athletes from different athletic programs who partake in community service projects year round. Some participate in building ramps for the elderly with the help of Mountain Outreach, and others go into the local schools to promote health and wellness through fitness activities. For the Patriot Women’s Soccer team, their calling is to the Williamsburg Health and Rehabilitation Center.
The ladies visit the nursing home a couple of times a week to visit with the residents. They have fellowship as well as work on projects to make the residents feel more of a presence of home by painting nails, making crafts, and cooking. Recently, four Patriot ladies visited residents to participate in pie making. Amerah Dixon (Corbin, Ky.), Kelsey Brumley (Paris, Ky.), Monica Kubick (Knoxville, Tenn.), and Whitney Baker (Corbin, Ky.) gathered round a table with the residents in the nursing home’s dining hall where pie crusts and fruits of strawberries and cherries were assembled to make a yummy creation.
The residents did not hesitate to dig in as they began cutting the fruits and making conversation of life, and the importance of togetherness. One resident knew exactly the right measurements of all the ingredients and began teaching the girls how to know when there is enough to make the product. Smiles and laughs could be seen on both sides as the girls assembled the pies and learned skills about baking and life that can always be kept with them.
Dixon added, “Going to the nursing home is a very humbling experience. When we go, they always give us advice from their own past experiences. We go in hopes of brightening up their day, but really they end up putting smiles on our faces and brightening ours.”
“I am extremely proud of the team for what they are doing at the nursing home,” commented Women’s Head Soccer Coach Joe Townsend. “I cannot take credit for what the girls are doing as it was set up by my graduate assistant Brittany Gadd. Brittany and the girls have shown great selflessness to share their time with members of the community. I think it is very important for us to realize how fortunate we are here, and that it is vital to give back to the local community.”
These are just a few examples of the impact that UC’s athletes have on the Williamsburg community and communities around the region.
For more information on the women’s soccer program as well as all other Patriot athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com.
