ST. PAUL, Minn. – As the 2010 fall semester winds down and the Holiday season approaches, reminders are everywhere that this is the, “Season of Giving.” That spirit is certainly alive and well in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), evidenced by the efforts of the conference’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC) to give back during this Holiday season, and throughout the 2010-11 school year.
The NCAA mandates that each member conference and institution have active SAACs, with the stated mission, “to enhance the total student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity, protecting student-athlete welfare and fostering a positive student-athlete image.” The MIAC SAAC and each conference institution’s SAAC do an excellent job of upholding the mission statement. However, the MIAC SAACs have also made a commitment to serve their respective communities, and the Holiday season offers the perfect time to take a closer look at some of the service projects and initiatives throughout the league. (MIAC SAAC Web site)
According to MIAC Executive Director Dan McKane, conference SAAC typically undertakes two community service initiatives each season. This year, the conference will begin volunteering with Special Olympics, thanks to a Division III-wide commitment to bring the two organizations together. It’s a natural fit, as student-athletes can contribute their areas of expertise to enhance the Special Olympics experience for the athletes involved.
In addition, the MIAC will continue its partnership with Rebuilding Together Twin Cities, which brings volunteers and communities together to improve the homes and lives of low-income homeowners. Last April, MIAC SAAC helped renovate a home in North Minneapolis and make it wheelchair accessible, and took on tasks such as installing drywall and making other repairs. (Press Release | Photo Gallery)
“The MIAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is very important to the conference, because it allows the student-athletes to have an active voice,” McKane said. “But I think when most look back at their experience on MIAC SAAC, they’ll remember the service projects and the opportunity to come together and give back to the community. It’s always an extremely rewarding experience for everyone involved.”
However, the call to serve doesn’t stop there for the SAACs of the MIAC. Almost every school’s institutional SAAC takes it upon themselves to give back to their communities as well, in a variety of ways. It’s clear that these activities don’t only affect change on and around MIAC campuses, but the experiences help shape the student-athletes involved during a very formative time in their lives.
Mascots generate more than team spirit
Perhaps the most unique SAAC service project in the MIAC is a yearly event held in Moorhead, Minn. Concordia College annually teams up with the other two institutions in its area – Minnesota State University-Moorhead and North Dakota State University – and the Salvation Army for an event called the “Mascot Challenge.”
The 2010 Mascot Challenge marked the third year of the event, and according to Concordia SAAC Advisor Rachel Bergeson, the idea was born when the three schools teamed with the Salvation Army for another emergency service project.
“This year was the 3rd Annual Mascot Challenge,” Bergeson said. “The idea came from the Salvation Army and grew out of the collaboration our students had with (them) during the flood fight in the Fargo-Moorhead area.”
The goal of the Challenge is to raise money for the Salvation Army around the Holidays, and the efforts are two-fold. First, each school receives 50 T-shirts to sell on its campus with the proceeds going to the school’s fundraising efforts. The second phase involves each school’s mascot – along with other volunteers – serving as the Salvation Army “bell ringers” in an effort to receive donations. This year, Scheel’s sporting goods store hosted the event, and donated the T-shirts.
Bergeson said Concordia’s support was especially strong this year on both fronts, and in just three years she said the Mascot Challenge has become a big hit on the Cobbers’ campus.
“This year we sold the shirts the fastest, so we received an extra dollar amount,” Bergeson said. “The response from our campus has been great. People look forward to buying their T-shirt every year and we have many campus and community members that make donations during the event.
“Volunteers who ring the bell and stand out in the cold weather are usually our SAAC members. I never have problems finding enough volunteers to help with this event because the student-athletes really enjoy it. Our student-athletes look forward to it every year and I think the community appreciates the camaraderie between the three institutions.”
This year NDSU brought in the biggest donation and, as a result, the opposing athletic directors had to sport the Bison’s green and gold colors for a day. But clearly the biggest winners were the Salvation Army, which received more than $4,400 from the event, and the student-athletes involved who got to truly experience the Holiday spirit.
Concordia's Mascot Challenge Press Release
St. Thomas stays Up Till Dawn
Most MIAC fans are aware of the success the University of St. Thomas had on the football field in 2010. The Tommies completed an undefeated regular season and reached the Division III quarterfinals for the second-straight season. However, they had a successful fall off the field as well.
Fritz Waldvogel, who is the St. Thomas SAAC Co-President and a star receiver for the Tommies, was approached during the season with an idea for an interesting service project. John Busch serves on the Board of Directors for the St. Thomas Up Till Dawn committee, and he worked with Waldvogel to get the UST football players involved in the cause, even though the players risked almost certain injury … in the form of hand cramps.
After a mid-season Sunday film session and conditioning workout, the Tommies gathered in an auditorium on campus and each wrote 50 personalized letters to family and friends to ask for donations for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Waldvogel said it was a rewarding to serve such a noble cause, and ended up being a team-building opportunity as well.
“We had a great turnout with the football guys and it was a great way to raise money for a good cause, but also we enjoyed being around each other,” Waldvogel said. “It was a great experience for everyone involved. Everyone I talked to said they really felt that it was rewarding knowing that all of their work went to a great cause.”
Meanwhile, near St. Thomas’ St. Paul campus the Tommies’ SAAC representatives and their athletic teams were volunteering at another service project that very same night. UST SAAC organized a community clean-up around the St. Paul area to give back to their campus and the surrounding neighborhoods. Waldvogel reported that project was equally successful.
“I know they had a great time helping out some people that live in St. Paul and felt it was very rewarding,” he said. “It’s good to know that people throughout UST SAAC are helping people out and making a difference in the community.”
St. Catherine spreads Holiday cheer
This winter, St. Catherine University’s SAAC was able to really tie their service project into the Holiday season. On Nov. 30, the Wildcats sent two different volunteer groups to the Twin Cities’ Ronald McDonald House, just a few miles from the St. Kate’s campus. Their main activity revolved around decorating the house and injecting it with some serious Christmas spirit, especially with a visit from Santa Claus on tap the following day.
Carynn Roehrick – the director of volunteer services at Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest – explained her group’s mission, and why volunteers, like the one from St. Catherine, are so important to their cause.
“Ronald McDonald House Charities provides a home away from home for families with a child who is facing a life threatening illness,” Roehrick said. “We create and provide a comfortable, inviting environment for them to stay while seeking treatment at a local hospital. Our volunteers are the backbone of our organization and help us maintain our facility and provide support for other services that we offer to our families. (Ronald McDonald House, Upper Midwest Web site)
“The volunteer group from St. Kate’s came in to set up all the Christmas trees, ornaments, lights and other wall décor to make our home feel special to the families staying with us over the Holidays. Our goal is to provide spaces that remind families of their own home and make them feel warm and welcome.”
St. Catherine SAAC Advisor Kris Wessinger said that the event was meaningful to her group for a number of reasons. She said it was certainly a feel-good event for her group, but that it also provided them with some perspective and brought out leadership qualities in all the volunteers.
“It was fun to get in the Christmas spirit with decorating the house and also to know how much this means to the sick children and their families who have to be away from home during the Holidays,” Wessinger said. “We hope this gave them some Christmas cheer!
“This is something we talked about on our drive home … these are great opportunities that really make you reflect on how fortunate we are,” Wessinger said. “As an advisor of our group, it was so wonderful to see these young women taking charge and getting involved. They all wanted to be there to help. It was very refreshing to be around such a fun, positive group.”
Kara Miller is the assistant house manager at Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest, and she organized and worked with the St. Catherine’s groups during their service project. She praised the groups for their efforts, especially during a typically busy time for student-athletes.
“The two groups from St. Kate’s were an instrumental help in our preparation for the Holidays this year,” Miller said. “We know that December can be a very busy time for students with exams and final papers, but the ladies of St. Kate’s willingly devoted several hours in their day to help fill the house with Holiday cheer.”
And, according to Miller, St. Kate’s SAAC accomplished their stated mission beautifully.
“It’s because of the help of wonderful groups like these student-athletes that make it possible for our families to feel like they are at a ‘home away from home’ even during a very difficult time in their life,” Miller said.
St. Kate's Press Release | MIAC Photo Gallery
A caring conference
The service projects at Concordia, St. Thomas and St. Catherine are just a few highlighted examples of the different, creative ways SAAC groups throughout the MIAC give back to the community. Almost all 13 conference institutions have made service projects a core of their SAAC activities, even though that goes above and beyond the group’s stated mission.
Augsburg College organized a series of “Pink Games” this fall to benefit cancer awareness at selected athletic events. Concordia also did a “Cobber Kids PE Program” to promote physical fitness to youth in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Saint John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict will team up this spring to put on a dance to raise money for the Special Olympics. In addition, Saint John’s is planning to team with another campus group on a service project, and Saint Ben’s has instituted a “Green Pledge” on its campus to find ways to make its athletic department more sustainable. At Hamline, the SAAC has a long-term volunteer project at a local elementary school, and it plans to participate in Relay for Life this spring.
Carleton College’s SAAC has been involved with a number of service projects this year. The group was involved with the annual “Hour of Power,” a sarcoma fundraiser started by the Carleton swimming and diving team. This spring it will host a triathlon to raise money for Northfield-area youth sports, a dance to raise money for the Special Olympics and a track and field day at local elementary schools. The Knights also hosted their annual Halloween event, which was a particular favorite of both the group and the community.
“Our main focus for the past term was our annual Halloween Knight Carnival, an event we put on for local youth the weekend before Halloween,” said Maddy Lenhard, who spoke on behalf of Carleton’s SAAC. “Each team hosts a booth with a unique activity for the kids to try out. I’ve heard many positive comments from parents about the opportunity for their children to not only have a safe trick-or-treating environment, but also to interact with a great group of positive role models.”
Rightly so, the MIAC is most often associated with what happens on the field or on the court, and the student-athletes wearing the uniforms are usually seen just as competitors or rivals by most fans, students and alumni. However, as the MIAC SAACs have proved again this year, student-athletes at the Division III level often mean much more to their school, campus and community than a jersey number or a stat line in a box score.
And though recognition isn’t the reason these caring MIAC student-athlete groups are trying to make a real difference through volunteering and service projects, the Holiday season is the perfect time to appreciate their desire to make their college experience about more than just athletics and a degree. It’s incredibly refreshing to know they care about simultaneously improving their surroundings – and themselves – as their experiences shape them to become tomorrow’s leaders.
With the fall season in the books, the winter season off and running and the spring season on the horizon, it’s great to know that another season – the season of giving – still holds just as prominent a place on campuses around the MIAC, and that the spirit of the season is certainly alive throughout the league.