Saints Women Enjoyed Their Time With Children from the Respite Care of San Antonio

SPECIAL FEATURE (Dec. 10, 2024) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) women's basketball team spent time with Respite Care of San Antonio (RCSA) earlier this fall.

This academic year, the Center for Service-Learning and Volunteerism (CSLV), in partnership with OLLU Athletics, is piloting a program called Adopt-a-Nonprofit. This initiative, which has the women's basketball team partnered with Respite Care, the men's and women's golf teams with Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children, and the baseball team with Building Hope Together, is already making a significant impact.

The CSLV office partners athletic teams with a nonprofit for the whole academic year. This pairing provides nonprofits with direct contact when they need a larger group of volunteers. OLLU's student-athletes, as part of the NAIA's Champions of Character program, are committed to taking part in community service activities. This collaboration allows coaches to provide service opportunities, and the CSLV facilitates these partnerships, handles liability forms, and tracks each team's hours.

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. The program not only benefits the community but also has a profound impact on the athletes, fostering personal growth and development as they engage in meaningful community service activities.

Head coach Tanya Ray commented, "I am excited about our partnership with Respite Care of San Antonio and the opportunity for our players to exercise one of our core values of Service.  What Respite Care does for children with special needs and their families is amazing, and we are happy to help in any way we can. In the fall, we were able to tour their facilities, learn about what they do, and help clean out and organize some additional office space for employees. We are excited to go back there next week and get a chance to spend some time with the kids, helping them decorate cookies for the holidays." 

The RCSA is the only one in Texas that provides childcare services as well as state-licensed residential homes for children with complex medical conditions. RCSA cares for children with special needs and complex medical conditions, such as congenital disabilities (e.g., spina bifida, Down syndrome, and heart defects), neonatal abstinence syndrome, fetal drug syndrome, abusive head trauma, cerebral palsy, and autism. The athletes engaged in various activities such as cleaning, organizing, and spending time with the children, making a tangible difference in the lives of those they served.

For the last 36 years, RCSA has helped thousands of families with respite care, strengthening the family bond and helping their children reach new milestones. The organization is located at 605 Belknap Place in San Antonio.

Penn said, "My goal with the Adopt-a-Nonprofit program was to make it easier for the coaches to partner with OLLU's sponsored nonprofit organizations. This way, coaches don't have to search around for volunteerism opportunities, AND our nonprofit partners know they have someone to call on when they need a group of volunteers. Plus, it promotes the NAIA and the thousands of student-athletes out there making a difference in our community."