Division III Week Day Three: COMMUNITY SERVICE TAKES CENTER STAGE

AMCC student-athletes have spearheaded or contributed to more than 65 community service activities in 2013-14, and those efforts are the focus of day three of Division III Week.

Events and activities have been organized in any number of combinations across AMCC campuses.  They can be fundraisers for medical research or disaster relief, or collections of goods like canned food or gently worn footwear.  They may take muscle--cleaning up trash on roadsides or parks, working a food service line.  And they can be fun, as evidenced by the enthusiasm of participating in the Special Olympics Polar Plunge.

Oftentimes the Student Athlete Advisory Committee takes charge, as happens at Penn St. Altoona with the backpack program, ensuring that underprivileged school children have healthy food for the weekend.  Or at La Roche College, where the SAAC enlisted the help of a local hair stylist to give reduced haircuts on campus, donating the proceeds to Special Olympics.

Other times individual sport teams step up, the way the basketball teams at Pitt-Greensburg and the swim teams at Pitt-Bradford work to support Special Olympics running clinics and exhibition games.  At Medaille College, the women's tennis team gave their time to a skills clinc on National Girls in Sports Day, while the Franciscan University men's basketball team hosted a free session for underprivileged children in the local community.

It is also not unusual to see student-athletes collaborate with other student groups on campus, as was done at D'Youville College, where the SAAC worked with the Student Association to make "Project Linus" comfort blankets for the local children's hospital.  At Hilbert College, the women's basketball team went so far as to partner with another local college, Daemen, to raise funds to fight lupus.

Sometimes the volunteer spirit takes student-athletes off campus, as was the case when a contingent of Mount Aloysius College students and staff travelled to New Orleans to assist with the on-going re-building effort there, or closer to home, as when the Behrend baseball team pitched in with a Habitat for Humanity build.

Athletic department staff members have been known to donate more than a little of their time as well, including people like Erin Eaton, the women's basketball coach at Pitt-Greensburg, who is a dedicated foster mom for numerous dogs in need, and John Eaton, athletic trainer at Pitt-Bradford, who uses his medical skills and skiing expertise to patrol the local slopes in his spare time.

The AMCC is proud of all these teams and individuals who embody the Division III spirit of artfully balancing academics, athletics and service.  We encourage you to read all of the stories of their otherwise unsung contributions on our community service page.