Miami, Georgian Court and Oswego State received the NCAA Team Works Community Service Competition award, which recognizes student-athletes' service to their respective communities through divisional competitions.
NCAA Team Works, which coordinates community service efforts at NCAA championships, and Helper Helper, a volunteer management and tracking platform, launched the community service competition to recognize student-athletes and schools who give back to their communities. This year's challenge marked its 10th competition, which ran from Sept. 1-Dec. 15 and is based on the number of service hours completed and the number of participating student-athletes. Helper Helper tracks the school participation data throughout the competition.
For schools who opted into the challenge, their total service hours were 218,594 hours, more than double last year's total. The estimated economic impact of those service hours, per Independent Sector's calculation of the national value of a volunteer hour, was $6.5 million.
"The NCAA is very proud of the outstanding work all our student-athletes do across the country year-round in their communities," said Victor Hill, associate director in the NCAA's office of inclusion, education & community engagement. "Congratulations to this year's three divisional winners for their dedication to help others and continue the culture of giving back on their respective campuses."
Miami earned the Division I award, with 100% of its 450-plus student-athletes participating in at least one community service activity. Pittsburgh and North Dakota finished second and third, respectively. It marks the second time Miami's won the Division I award after claiming it in 2018.
The Miami women's basketball team interacts with a local youth team as part of the school's many community service efforts. (Photo courtesy of Miami)
The school's activities included a pen pal program that matched 86 student-athletes with students at local elementary schools, free swimming lessons from the women's team to local children, a "Day of Giving" when the football team delivered Thanksgiving meals, and a department-wide Christmas drive that provided gifts, hygiene items and school supplies to children in need overseas.
"We are grateful to be able to give back because not everyone was given the same opportunities that we were given, so to be able to help people whenever we get the chance means a lot to us," said Kamren Kinchens, a First Team All-American safety for Miami's football team. "Our passion to give back is that we want to rather than have to."
"I am beyond proud of the work we have put into community service and student-athlete engagement here at the University of Miami," added Shirelle Jackson, executive associate athletic director at Miami. "I am thrilled for our student-athletes, communities we serve and our Canes Connect team. Our student-athletes continue to be receptive to our outreach opportunities, which has had an incredible impact on both our student-athletes and our surrounding communities."
Georgian Court claimed the Division II award. Coker finished in second in Division II, with Arkansas Tech coming in third. Student-athletes at Georgian Court, which also won the award in 2018, averaged 20 hours of community service each in this year's competition.
"Helper Helper has created opportunities to help us become better student athletes," said Alyssa Herrera, a junior softball player and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee president at Georgian Court. "It teaches us how to show compassion, make meaningful relationships, and give back to those around us."
Student-athletes at Georgian Court held a food drive for Thanksgiving last fall as part of its community service initiatives. (Photo courtesy of Georgian Court)
Georgian Court's community service activates included trips to elementary schools to read to children, Christmas gift drives, canned food collections for a local shelter, organized walks to fundraise for cancer research and coaching youth soccer teams.
"Winning this award is truly an honor," said Dan Sempkowski, director of athletics at Georgian Court. "While the wins and losses are certainly important, service sits as one of our most significant core values here at Georgian Court University. It is truly impressive how so many of our student-athletes seek out opportunities for themselves outside of their program and department efforts. I am proud how important a service has always been to this athletic department. I am even prouder that despite the transition of a new administration team, it has remained a top priority, which is a testament to our head coaches and the culture that is established."
Oswego State earned Division III honors, ahead of Saint Mary's (Minnesota) in second and George Fox in third. Oswego State's student-athletes tallied nearly 2,400 hours of community service during the competition, highlighted by more than 400 Lakers spending more than 1,000 combined hours raking leaves for senior citizens during a three-day stretch.
"We believe that engaging in the community portrays a prime example of the culture at SUNY Oswego," said Taylor Hudon, a senior for the women's ice hockey team. "Participating in local community involvement benefits our team dynamic by allowing us to give back to our gracious fan base. We prioritize the stage that we as hockey players must influence younger players and continue to develop a family through our involvement."
Additionally, Oswego State's student-athletes participated in a variety of opportunities to raise awareness for ovarian cancer and Peaceful Remedies, which aims improve the healing experience for those impacted by life altering illnesses. Peaceful Remedies was founded by Mary Gosek, the late wife of Oswego State men's ice hockey head coach Ed Gosek.
"Community engagement and service is part of our program's foundation," said Ed Gosek. "Providing our student-athletes with diverse opportunities to become immersed in our local community supports Oswego's mission for our students to pursue a meaningful life as a productive, responsible member of society."
The student-athletes at Miami, Georgian Court and Oswego State all will receive an award from the NCAA for winning the competition.
