University of Connecticut student-athletes have recorded a record-setting semester of community service. After completing 1,000 hours of volunteer work during the 2013-14 academic year, student-athletes upped their efforts and have completed nearly 800 in the semester of Fall 2014 alone.
Stephanie Bohannon, Community Coordinator for the Huskies, attributes this significant increase in volunteerism to an increase in program awareness among the student-athletes and increased involvement from SAAC representatives.”As athletes mature they are more exposed to the program,” said Buchannon. “We also promote it through SAAC which helps to get athletes involved.”
The University of Connecticut student-athletes complete a majority of their volunteer hours by participating in two premiere programs: Husky Reach and Goal Line. Husky Reach brings the student-athletes to elementary schools to improve the student’s reading level and increase their time spent reading. The student-athletes make an average of four visits per week to local elementary schools. Once the school achieves its goal of reading 1 million minutes, the department brings them to campus for a day of fun and games with the student-athletes.
Goal Line target middle school students that are considered “at risk” due to socioeconomic factors. Teams visit a local middle school throughout the year to watch videos with the students that model appropriate behavior and talk them through how to handle situations that may arise in a courteous, respectful manner.