Islander student-athletes embrace service in Fall 2018

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Another year is nearly at an end, and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi student-athletes left their mark throughout the community this past fall through a commitment to service and involvement. Individuals from every team dedicated their time and talent to some type of service activity, from beautifying the area where they live, learn and play to engaging with children at the Ronald McDonald House.
 
The Islanders campaign began in October as several student-athletes had the desire to improve the community by taking part in the Rotary Club Day of Service. They spent the morning beautifying Travis Elementary School through landscaping, gardening and cleanup.
                                                                                                                                                                                  
As Halloween approached, the Islanders made a visit to the Ronald McDonald House of Corpus Christi. The student-athletes dressed up in costume and handed out candy at the house as well as played games with the residents. As the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's (SAAC) Southland Gives Back initiative this year, students have devoted time each month to visit with children and their families at the house.
 
"Volunteering at Ronald McDonald House has been such a great experience thus far," said SAAC President and women's soccer player Abbie Flax. "The kids and families of the house can be going through such hard and scary times, so it is a great feeling to be able to put a smile on their faces, even if it's only for an hour or two. This is such a special organization, and we hope to stay involved as much as possible."
 
Those efforts continued throughout October and November as SAAC held a Wishlist Drive, gathering household, kitchen, office and non-perishable food items for the organization. The group collected more than 40 pounds of goods and delivered them to the house on Nov. 13. While there, they did Thanksgiving arts and crafts with the children, making hand turkeys and festive hats.
 
As December rolled around, the students remained in the spirit of giving and kicked off the winter holiday season at the Harbor Lights Festival. Nearly 20 Islanders spent their day helping with event setup and breakdown as well as working the parade and children's activity area and fun zone.
 
"It was great seeing the community come out to support each other," said junior baseball student-athlete Luke Marbach. "I thought the parade was pretty cool and overall it was a fun event."
 
Despite finals week looming, 21 student-athletes braved the elements at the Dolphin Park playground build on North Beach. The Islanders, along with employees of the FlatIron Dragados Harbor Bridge Project Team, community volunteers and city officials, worked to install a new state-of-the-art playground after the previous one was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.
 
"Even with the weather, it was a really fun experience for all of us," said junior women's soccer player Siri O'Donnell. "It was a great opportunity to get out and help in the community and meet others with the same spirit of giving. It was definitely something we were proud to be a part of, specifically creating an environment for children to socialize and be active."
 
As a great end to the semester, a contingent of Islanders athletes visited Kaffie Middle School to speak to a group of first-generation students in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program. They discussed their college experiences, juggling academics and athletics, the importance of strong academic performance as well as shared personal stories of struggle and triumph.
 
In addition, several Athletics programs took part in team-specific service initiatives this fall, such as reading to children at local elementary schools, participating in local sports and healthy-living programs and much more! The Islanders won't miss a beat as they plan to kick off Spring 2019 at the Ronald McDonald House at the end of January.
 
For all the latest news, make sure to follow Islanders Athletics on Twitter and Instagram (@Go_Islanders). To request a student-athlete/team appearance or participation in a service event, please click HERE.