Kats Giving Back To Huntsville Community
2/29/2016 7:50:00 AM | Football, Bearkat Champions Fund
An aspect of the Sam Houston intercollegiate athletic program that sets the Bearkats apart is the belief of the student-athletes in the importance of giving back to the Huntsville and Walker County community.
Sam Houston's football team that has brought regional and national recognition to the university and the city through numerous appearances on ESPN national telecasts in five consecutive NCAA playoff appearances demonstrated their ability to give back with their volunteer acts in February.
Earlier in the month Bearkat football players joined with other student-athletes to assist the Huntsville Junior Service League in distributing food to Walker County families in need during the most recent visit of the Houston Food Bank truck to the city.
“The athletes unloaded the trucks then helped families bag and carry pineapples, grapefruit, bread, onions, bananas, bok choy and potatoes to more than 140 families,” Sam Houston football staff assistant Siddiq Haynes said. “It was a gorgeous sunny day and one of the Junior Service League members complimented our athletes for their service, stating how blessed the city is to have them.”
Then, on Saturday morning February 20, Bearkat football players were part of more than 40 volunteers from the university who joined the Red Cross for a service project to identify the need for and install smoke alarms in an underserved neighborhood in Huntsville.
The Huntsville Red Cross web site called the group “our largest volunteer group on two counts – the number of volunteers and the size of the individuals with several big football linemen among a group that was nearly double the number of helpers expected.”
Other volunteers included a group of graduate students, members of the Huntsville Fire Department and students from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The Red Cross organized the group into teams of four and provided training, tools and smoke alarms. The teams went door-to-door volunteering to install the alarms if they were needed. The Fire Department drove a big fire truck into the neighborhood to bring authenticity and recognition to the project.
“On a humorous note, the teams made up principally of football players reported they feared they had intimidated some residents, making them reluctant to open their doors,” the Red Cross web site reported. “Doubts were erased and the fire alarms were installed. By 3 p.m. the work was accomplished and the volunteers and Red Cross head home.”
Activities such as these two projects by the football team in February are typical for student-athletes from all 17 of the Bearkats' NCAA Division I sports teams.
Under the umbrella of the Sam Houston Student-Athlete Advisory team, Bearkat community service projects include the annual Pop-Tab Drive to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House in Houston, the annual Christmas school-supplies drive for elementary students in need, appearances and clinics at the Huntsville Boys and Girls Club and visits to HISD elementary and middle school libraries to read to kids.
Sam Houston's sports teams have combined to five Southland Conference Commissioner's Cups All-Sports championships and win 23 Southland individual sports titles since 2005. The Bearkat football team has won three conference championships and reached the NCAA semifinals four times in the past five years.
“The support of Sam Houston alumni and friends and the Huntsville community has been a major factor in our team's success,” Haynes said. “All the players appreciate our community and take it as a privilege when they have the opportunity to give back.”
Championships are not given away. They are earned. And they come at a price.
Bearkat Champion annual fund dollars go toward enhancing the student-athlete experience specifically in the areas of academic, athletic training and medical and strength and conditioning services as well as helping with the rising costs of tuition, room and board, equipment and travel and facilities. Every dollar donated to the Bearkat Champions fund counts.
The need for more improvements to keep Sam Houston in the forefront of intercollegiate athletics in the Southwest is on-going.
Membership in the Bearkat Champions Fund helps the athletic program but also provides individual benefits.
A minimum investment of $100 each year earns individuals priority towards NCAA playoff games, premium road contests like the Battle of the Piney Woods tickets, season ticket seating location, premium parking and invitation-only special events.
Supporters become part of the team by helping Sam Houston accomplish its goal of defining the term "student-athlete" while enjoying the benefits of being a Bearkat Champion. Members receive the added knowledge that the student-athletes look forward to giving back that same support to the community.
