Athletics Headlines: MBU Athletic Teams' Community Service Featured in MBU Magazine
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June 17, 2008
MBU Athletic Teams' Community Service Featured in MBU Magazine
They garner national championships, are named All-Americans and, all the while, volunteer hundreds of hours in the communities where they compete. At this University, scholar-athletes couple sports with service.
Shoveling sand into bags and building makeshift walls aimed at fighting floodwaters wasn’t how the MBU Men’s lacrosse team envisioned spending Good Friday.
But, for that matter, nearby residents of MBU’s West County campus hadn’t exactly planned for an Easter weekend of record-setting floods in their neighborhood either.
Heeding a desperate call for help, the MBU lacrosse team made a last-minute decision to ditch their Good Friday plans after a lingering spring storm forced the Meramec River to swell well out of its banks, wreaking havoc on, among other places, parts of low-lying areas of West St. Louis County.
The day spent assisting a nearby community in need was, in many ways, indicative of an MBU athletic program that has long embedded a substantive community service component into every team that wears the MBU blue.
“We believe that MBU athletes leave here better, more fully-formed leaders because of the community service initiatives that they lead,” said Thomas Smith, MBU director of athletics. “Our athletic program’s success hinges on the principle of forming quality athletes, but also enriching the lives of those student athletes both spiritually and academically while they are here. Serving others is one way we do just that.”
MBU, which competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), is a proud member of the organization’s Champions of Character program. Members of the program, which is designed to provide character values in student-athletes across the country, abide by five core values, including servant leadership. Coinciding with that value, all of MBU’s 17 varsity teams are required to execute at least one community service project during the course of any given season. Most, if not all, teams far surpass that minimum requirement, however.
In fact, Coach Danny Wingate’s women’s basketball team spent one afternoon a week during their busy 2007-2008 season volunteering time and resources at The Cedars at the Jewish Center for the Aged—a skilled-care nursing center in West St. Louis County. Often, the team spent their time developing relationships with the residents.
“You have no idea what this team means to our residents,” said Matt Cohen, volunteer coordinator at The Cedars. “When they’re not here, residents ask for them. They really help fill a void.”
That was apparent by the smile on Cedars resident Fay Rosen’s face when a couple of team members entered her room one day in late March. During the afternoon visit, the MBU athletes chatted with Rosen about a range of things—from the black and white photo of her father hung proudly on her wall to their recent spring break adventures.
Their visit came weeks after their season—and their obligation to JCA—had concluded.
“We really get excited about this opportunity,” said Brittany Dorman, a freshman from Sperry, Okla. “I feel like we get as much out of our time here as they do. It’s just great to hear about the residents’ stories.”
The MBU baseball team also has heard some stories—just from a younger generation. In early April, the team took a break from their regular season to help give some pointers to some little leaguers. Led by Coach Eddie Uschold, the MBU baseball team every year performs several community service projects. Serving as role models to future collegiate baseball players is among the most important functions his players can perform.
Andrew Joly, MBU’s lacrosse coach, couldn’t agree more. Sometimes, acting as a role model means responding to a community in crisis—even on Good Friday. The lacrosse team worked throughout the day to protect a house owned by an elderly couple from the rising floods. They left not knowing whether or not their work would be in vain. A couple days later, Joly, while watching images captured from a local TV station’s helicopter, spotted a painted “Thank You,” on the house they worked to save.
“I really feel that this event made a big impact on my players’ lives,” Joly said. “But if nothing else, starting something together and finishing something together is crucial to becoming a better team.”
The preceding story was taken from the Spring 2008 issue of the MBU magazine. To get your free subscription so that you can read more about the Athletic Teams and their community service, as well as other happenings at MBU, click here.
