Bulldogs begin the year with philanthropic efforts
10/20/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Bulldogs begin the year with philanthropic efforts
Spokane, Wash. - Throughout the first month of classes Gonzaga University student-athletes have picked up right where they left off from last school year, both on and off the field. While fall teams are now in full swing of their seasons, numerous Zags from nearly every team have already accumulated over 400 hours of community outreach through the month of September.
The Men's Golf team visited children at Shriner's Hospital on Sept. 7. Shriner's International supports their Hospitals for Children, a health system of more than 20 hospitals providing pediatric medical care, research, and educational opportunities.
The Women's Golf team volunteered at a golf tournament benefiting the Anna Schindler Foundation on Sept. 10. The Anna Schindler Foundation's mission is to raise awareness and money for children suffering from cancer and support families who have a child that is a cancer patient.
On Sept. 17 members of the Men's and Women's Crew teams donated their time to the Yoga People Care About Childhood Cancer event. Yoga People Care About Childhood Cancer is a group of yoga practitioners who support childhood cancer awareness and research.
The Baseball team hosted a camp for at-risk youth from the West Central Community Center on Sept. 18. The Center's mission is to offer social, health, recreation and education services to the surrounding community. The team enjoyed their opportunity to interact with the children.
Women's Basketball also facilitated a basketball camp for the Spokane Starz girls' basketball club on Sept. 25. This was an opportunity for some of the Inland Northwest's best young players to interact with and learn from the Zags. The Spokane Starz aim to teach basketball skills and mental toughness to young girls basketball players.
Several of Gonzaga's student-athletes have been visiting elementary schools as well. The Zags will be visiting Grant and Garfield Elementary Schools regularly throughout the school year, making appearances in their physical education and library classes and encouraging healthy life styles and the emphasizing the importance of literacy.
The Zags wrapped up the month of September by participating in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Walk to Cure Diabetes. This event took place at Spokane's Riverfront Park on Sept. 25. Over 70 Bulldogs took part in the Walk that raises money for research to cure juvenile diabetes.
Gonzaga student-athletes will continue their time serving meals at the Union Gospel Mission (UGM) for another school year. The Zags will be going to UGM bimonthly throughout the year to serve those in need in the Spokane community. Upcoming community outreach opportunities the GU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (S.A.A.C.) has planned this fall is participation at The Boys and Girls Club of Spokane County's Trunk-or-Treat Halloween Celebration and the kick-off of their t-shirt collection, benefiting Clothes4Souls.
