Softball, basketball teams volunteer in community

The GCSU softball team volunteered earlier this week with the Salvation Army for the holiday season. The student athletes took shifts ringing the Salvation Army bell outside of the Wal-mart on North Columbia Street in Milledgeville on Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Salvation Army collects money to help feed the poor during the holidays. The GCSU softball team has been happy to help collect donations this holiday season.“This benefits the community and Georgia College by providing an opportunity for Georgia College student athletes to contribute in helping those less fortunate in our community and surrounding counties,” Head Softball Coach Jamie Madewell-Grodecki said. “We contacted the Salvation Army and asked how we could help during the holidays.”

“We are honored to have the opportunity to raise money to help those whom are less fortunate during the holiday season,” Madewell-Grodecki said. “This time of year is about sharing and giving, and hopefully this small effort will make a difference for those who really need it.”

The GCSU basketball and women’s basketball coach Maurice Smith partnered with the Early Learning Center pre-kindergarten staff to host a field trip as another way to volunteer in the community. The trip took place on Nov. 5 at the GCSU Centennial Center.

The preschoolers got the opportunity to play games with members of both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. They played games like “chase the bobcat” which is similar to duck, duck, goose, and shoe mountain where they placed their shoes in the middle of a circle and had to complete a task before running to find them.

The preschoolers also got to watch as senior Josh Hurst put on a show with high-flying dunk theatrics.

“This was a great chance for the kids to meet some of the basketball athletes here at Georgia College,” Smith said. “This was good to get the youngsters involved in our basketball programs. It was really all about fun for these kids. It also served as a great role model program because the youngsters look up to our players, and our players can realize how fortunate they are to have young children in the community that look up to them.”

Posted by Cara Davis on Dec 2 2010. Filed under Lead stories, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.