Liberty Student-Athletes Pay it Forward
1/17/2012 12:00:00 AM | General
Beyond its successes on the athletic fields and in the classroom last fall, Liberty Athletics also had great achievements in the greater Lynchburg community. In the months from August to December, there was rarely a moment when either a drive or event to support the community wasn't underway.
Much of the credit for the department's community involvement goes to the Academic Affairs for Athletics staff, as they have taken it upon themselves to organize event after event. Morgaine Godwin, the Life Skills Coordinator for the department, has served as the point person on most of the projects, making the effort to help others more focused.
"In years past, each individual team was doing stuff, and Academic Affairs for Athletics would try to put something together, but we probably did a lot more with, say, football or men's basketball," explained Kristie Beitz, Associate Athletic Director for Academic Affairs.
However, the more centralized effort was boosted last fall after adding Godwin to the staff, where one of her main duties is to generate community involvement.
"She [Godwin] really helped to develop a program and put things together. She allowed it to be more consistent," stated Beitz. "With consistency, we were able to get greater effort by individuals and teams across the board within athletics."
This past semester kicked off with the "Dollar Makes a Difference" campaign, as fall student-athletes made their return to Liberty Mountain. After starting the program with the football team, it spread to involve the entire Athletic Department, and even received 100 percent participation from several athletic programs. In the end, the drive raised more than $2,700. Beitz and her staff used the funds to purchase school supplies, which were donated to 11 different area schools.
Beitz's leadership of her staff comes from her belief in the concept of "pay it forward," which she describes as the fact that at some point, we all need support of others, and you have to begin by setting an example and helping others when you can.
Beitz began the fall semester by challenging her staff and all student-athletes to buy into the same concept, and think of serving others with the platform they have.
"With a domino effect, it morphed into something so much greater, with all of our student-athletes and teams really jumping on board," recalled Beitz. "We challenged them to think about others and think about what they're called to do, utilizing athletics as a catalyst to move forward."
In early October, student-athletes got involved with Lynchburg City Schools once again, as they supported International Walk to School Day. Safe Routes to School lead the initiative, which aims to create safe routes for children to walk and bike to school. At the same time, the organization emphasizes the importance of physical activity for youth, encouraging them to walk or bike to school.
Liberty volunteers, who included student-athletes and staff members, greeted students at meeting points in addition to helping highlight safe routes and teaching important lessons, such as how to safely use sidewalks and cross intersections.
"Being around our student-athletes when they're giving or doing something different—like walking kids to school—lets you see a different side of them," described Godwin. "Their heart is showing and it's great seeing them out there doing things for other people."
To close October, student-athletes took advantage of Halloween night to seek canned good donations as part of "Trick or Treat so Others Can Eat." Once the night was complete, participants collected well over 500 canned goods, with all proceeds being donated to the Kingdom Power Worship Center, located on 14th Street in Lynchburg.
The holidays then brought on a whole new level of involvement, starting with "Thanks-for-Giving," which was extended two weeks due to student-athletes wanting the opportunity to seek additional help while home on a short break. This drive sought jackets, hats, gloves and other cold-weather clothing items for donation to The Daily Bread in Lynchburg.
On Dec. 2, student-athletes delivered over 600 articles of clothing to the organization, while also donating 65 bags which were packed with various personal care items.
Some campaigns or drives are easier to put in order than others. With collecting drives, it takes organization and time to deliver the goods; however, with an event like the Volleyball-a-Thon—which was a late-night event which ran from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.—requires more input and assistance, especially from a staffing standpoint.
"It takes a lot of help from other people. Everybody has a different ability and role," Godwin explained, as she talked about her organizing efforts. "In Academic Affairs for Athletics, we have so many people that can do different things and so many people pitch in to help. We rely upon everybody to help with an event."
This year, the Volleyball-a-Thon reached new heights in just its second year. With assistance from the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (S.A.A.C.), the double-elimination volleyball tournament attracted 44 teams and raised $3,000 in funds. A $60 entry fee for the eight-person teams and a minimal spectator fee for more than the 200 students who chose to take in the event, compiled the total proceeds of the evening.
Beitz backed Godwin's insight on getting help from others, saying, "Our staff is excited that we can follow Morgaine's lead and want be able to chip in and do different things."
This includes helping out with other smaller activities which include student-athletes, such as reading at local schools, wrapping Christmas gifts at local schools, being active at nursing homes or helping with Meals on Wheels.
"It's overwhelming. It's exciting," remarked Beitz on the student-athletes' efforts from last fall. "I'm always proud to be a part of Liberty University and Liberty University Athletics, but it's just one more thing that excites me to see what our student-athletes are doing."
Looking toward the spring semester, Godwin is thinking of doing some similar events, in addition to some smaller events.
"We're definitely looking into doing another event like the Volleyball-a-thon, also benefitting Lynchburg City Schools," projects Godwin. Additionally, Godwin says she's playing with the idea of going school-wide with an event and trying to involve the entire student body.
"There are so many fun things, so many exciting little things that we want to do as well. I'm looking forward to all of it," Godwin concluded.
