OLLU Golf Displayed Community Spirit at Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children
SAN ANTONIO (Nov. 11, 2024) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) golf teams, in a display of community spirit, dedicated their Friday to assisting the Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children with their Indoor Fall Festival.
This academic year, the Center for Service-Learning and Volunteerism (CSLV) in partnership with OLLU Athletics is piloting a program called Adopt-a-Nonprofit. Men's and women's golf are partnered with Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children for the pilot year. The CSLV office partners athletic teams with a nonprofit for the whole academic year. This pairing provides nonprofits with a direct contact when they need a larger group of volunteers. Through the NAIA's Champions of Character program, OLLU's student-athletes are required to take part in community service activities, and this collaboration allows coaches to have service opportunities. The CSLV facilitates the partnerships, handles the liability forms and tracks each team's hours so that at the end of the academic year, the CSLV can provide a report of all of the athletic team's volunteerism. Tracking their hours through the CSLV office adds a layer of formality to any reports that are required by the NAIA.
Rev. Kelsey Penn, Director for CSLV, commented, "The hope is that after this pilot year, we expand to as many of the athletic teams as we can!" Penn and Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance and NAIA Champions of Character representative Haley Holzem started the Adopt-A-Nonprofit program this fall.
During the outing with the Sunshine School, the golf teams took charge of managing games, serving food, and most importantly, creating a fun and engaging atmosphere for the children, staff, vendors, and parents throughout the day.
Sunshine School promotes early identification and intervention for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and helps them develop their maximum potential through listening, spoken language and literacy. The school is located at 603 E. Hildrebrand Ave., in San Antonio.
Head Coach Arnie Martinez commented, "Our men and women had a great time with the children. They really enjoyed giving back to the community, and we all look forward to many more community service activities."
All OLLU teams are deeply committed to community service, a key component of the NAIA Champions of Character program. This program's vision is to transform the sports culture by providing training that instills the values of character in students, coaches, and parents, encouraging them to always do the right thing, both on and off the field.
The Champions of Character program plays a significant role in shaping the OLLU teams, ensuring that they always keep five core values—integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership—at the heart of their athletic experience.
Martinez concluded, "We are excited about working with CSLV to guide us in our community outreach. Their leadership will help us fulfill our commitment to the NAIA Champions of Character program."