Every day, athletes all over the world are doing incredible work in their communities by giving back, creating opportunities for those less fortunate, and making connections that will last a lifetime. Here are four articles the AFH team has read that you may have missed.
“After the confetti fell this year in Houston and Dallas, the champions received their trophies and the madness of March concluded, but here are some ways the NCAA has left the host cities better than they were before. “
“If we truly wish to meet the realities of our current moment and provide the experience all students need to thrive, centering whole-student well-being in the campus experience is foundational.”
“Countless times Black women are being scrutinized for their talents. Fast forward to today, that same treatment is being placed upon our girls. While this conversation is ongoing, girls like Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson are unapologetically speaking up for themselves and refusing to conform to historical societal torture.”
Developed in 2013, our AFH University program helps college athletes explore leadership, life skill development, advocacy, their role in the community, and how to discover their philanthropic passions.
Each month our AFH University student-athletes are able to make a positive impact in their communities as our campus liasions dilligently pair athletes and teams to causes they care about.
During March, AFH Athletes from Georgetown, Davidson, Southern, and LSU visited schools and children’s hospitals, engaged in community events, and more!
Georgetown University
Georgetown Qatar
Georgetown women’s rowing spent 2 hours answering questions and talking about female leadership in athletics and talking about what it means to be a female student-athlete on campus with women visiting from Georgetown Qatar.
Night To Shine
Georgetown Athletics attended the Night to Shine, a prom night experience for those with special needs. During the event, each student-athlete was paired with a buddy for the duration of the evening. Everyone had a fantastic time spreading kindness all evening!
Davidson University
Ada Jenkins Center
Members of the Davidson football team attended an open gym at the newly remodeled Ada Jenkins Center basketball court. During their visit they were able to play a pickup game with a few kids. Everyone had fun learning new skills together!
Southern University
Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital
Southern Football student-athletes facilitated a game of bingo in the activity room and visited the rooms of game-winners. During this visit, new friendships were made, secret handshakes were shared, and there were lots of smiles all around!
Ryan Elementary
This month, Southern University track & field kicked off Southern Athletics’ biweekly school visits to Ryan Elementary! Student-athletes plan to read books to classes, assist with physical education classes, and support school events at each of their visits.
Today was a great day! Changing lives one book at a time!
Karanay Alexander, Southern Track & Field
Read Across America Day
Student-athletes from Southern football, soccer and baseball visited Buchanan Elementary School for Read Across America Day. They visited multiple classes to read their favorite children’s books to students and received Dr. Suess-inspired certificates of participation on behalf of the school.
Louisiana State University (LSU)
Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital
LSU track & field and beach volleyball continued our biweekly visits to Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital. The student-athletes were able to visit patients’ rooms and shared insight into their student-athlete experience. During their visit they made new friends, shared a lot of laughs, and raised the spirits of patients.
Read Across America Day
Student-athletes from LSU track & field visited Wildwood Elementary for Read Across America Day. During their visit, they were able to read their favorite children’s books to 2nd and 4th grade classrooms and asked kids how they can use reading as their superpower.
Baton Rouge
Special Olympics
LSU Gymnastics, Southern Volleyball, Southern Soccer, and Southern Football volunteered at The Special Olympics State Bowling Tournament. Student-athletes checked in participants, led stretches before the games, served as lane volunteers, and assisted with the awards ceremony.
I’d just like to put it out there that I just witnessed the most amazing bowling tournament ever. It was a fun and heartwarming experience and I’d love to do it again.
Joshua Griffin, Southern Football
Bettering their communities is something all of our AFH Athletes are passionate about. While the month of March is coming to an end, we cannot wait to see the impact they make in April!
On the third Monday of each new year, we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by engaging in service projects throughout our communities nationwide. To many, Dr. King was a visionary. Uplifting his community through systemic change and encouraging others to take an active role in improving their communities.
His example is our call to action.
Our AFH University student-athletes from LSU, Southern, and Howard answered that call through eight (8) service projects in their own communities ranging from mural painting, planting shrubs, walking dogs, providing food and clothing for the less fortunate, and more.
Serve D.C.
The Howard University women’s and men’s golf teams kicked off volunteering on Saturday, January 14, with Serve DC. Together they packaged meals, created go kits, and learned critical CPR training.
Life’s most persistant and urgent questions is, “what are you doing for others?”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Peace Walk & Parade
On MLK Day, the Howard Swim & Dive team and the tennis team participated in the Peace Walk and Parade in the morning- a tradition that started over 40 years ago. The Peace Walk and Parade symbolizes the need to continue Dr. King’s work and reinforces the idea that every individual has a role to play in human progress and justice.
If you can’t fly, run; if you can’t run, walk; if you can’t walk, crawl; but by all means keep moving.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Louisiana Key Academy
Monday, LSU Athletics hosted a “Live the Dream” Field Day at Louisiana Key Academy. Over 50 kids participated in the interactive service initiative with various stations facilitated by student-athletes highlighting their perspective sports.
MLK Day is special to me because I love giving back to my community. God has blessed me all my life and being able to give back to these kids and see them happy and smiling means the world to me.
Aristotle Abraham II, LSU Football
Forest Community Park
On Monday, Southern Volleyball, LSU Men’s Basketball, and LSU Volleyball assisted in forest restoration by planting shrubs and trees at Forest Community Park. Student-athletes moved plants from the parking lot to the restoration area, dug holes, and planted and watered plants.
Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve.
Martin Luther King
So What Else
On Monday afternoon, Howard women’s basketball, football, and lacrosse took various shifts at So What Else – whose mission is to improve the lives of children and families living in underserved communities in the Baltimore-Washington Metro Area- where they distributed meals and clothes to those less fortunate in the D.C. area.
Doing community service on MLK Day is important to me because he [Dr. King] dedicated his entire life to service in the Black community. It’s only right that on this day we pay tribute and serve those around us.
Kaniyah Harris, Howard Women’s Basketball
The Walls Project
Southern Baseball, Southern Soccer, LSU Golf, and LSU Soccer joined The Walls Project for their annual mural painting. Student-athletes painted a mural design sketched by a local artist and assisted with clean up at Jewel J. Newman Community Center.
All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.
Martin Luther King Jr.
St. Vincent de Paul
LSU student-athletes from various sports served in the dining hall at St. Vincent de Paul which provides hot meals to Baton Rouge’s homeless community daily.
Friends of the Animals
At the final service project on Monday, student-athletes from various LSU sports teams engaged with a new partner, Friends of the Animals Baton Rouge Shelter. They walked dogs and assisted shelter staff with general cleaning.
The life and legacy of Dr. King lives on through people like our student-athletes, who continue to dedicate themselves to bettering their community. While MLK Day has passed, you can still honor his legacy by taking the AFH MLK Service Day Pledge.
As we built new relationships with local nonprofits in Baton Rouge, one stood out as a student-athlete favorite – The Miracle League. For those unfamiliar, The Miracle League gives children with any type of disability the opportunity to play the game of baseball.
Since 2016, Athletes for Hope student-athletes have looked forward to Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Cypress Mounds.
This is a great opportunity to give back to the culture around us and we enjoy every second of it.
Gavin Dugas, LSU Baseball
Our involvement has not only brought joy to the young Miracle League athletes but to LSU and Southern University student-athletes as well. Serving as buddies, protecting players during the game, and cheering them on has been a rewarding experience while contributing to a positive environment for all participants. Our 2019 & 2022 AFH Partner of the Year participant stated, “It’s been unbelievable. The Miracle League players love it when athletes come out to join them.”- Charlene Lauman, Miracle League- Volunteer Coordinator for the 2022 fall season.
Everyone should go watch or volunteer at the Miracle League! It’s truly a blast to be out there with those kids because all they want to do is have fun! That’s what the game is all about. Each and every single one of them puts a smile on my face. I’m already looking forward to my next game because they are so much fun!
McKenzie Odgen, Southern University Softball.
AFH Baton Rouge teams made weekly visits to their friends over at Cypress Mounds- never missing a game during the entirety of the fall 2022 season. It wasn’t long until their dedication and commitment to their community started getting noticed on a larger scale. Local news station WBRZ made a trip out to Cypress Mounds to watch our student-athletes from LSU in action.
Following LSU Baseball’s visit in October, they posted to their social media platforms “Thank you to the Miracle League at Cypress Mounds for having us and we can’t wait to see y’all at Alex Box this season!”
We are looking forward to returning for the spring season to support our buddies at The Miracle League.
In recognition of International Youth Day, AFH had the pleasure of coordinating an opportunity for athletes with Type 1 Diabetes to come together to share their “origin stories” and diabetes journeys with the Children at Children’s Diabetes Foundation Colorado. Having a chronic illness can take its toll on a young person’s mental health.
Children with diabetes battle with depression and thoughts of suicide longer than medically healthy children their age.
Jaser, SS
Despite the mental and physical toll diabetes takes on children, much like the AFH athletes, the children at the Children’s Diabetes Foundation have learned to view their diabetes as a superpower.
Whether diagnosed as a child, teenager, or adult our athletes shared similar experiences when it came to their management of Type 1 diabetes. As we know, practice and exercise are very important tools for athletes’ success. For athletes with Type 1 diabetes practice is not just on the field, practice includes finding a routine that works for their insulin management; what and when to eat before a game; how much and how often to take their insulin during games, and of course what their go-to pre-game snack is so their blood sugar doesn’t get too low.
Ultimately Type 1 diabetics practice listening closely to their body and this is where their ‘superpower’ comes from- being disciplined and consistent with taking care of their bodies. AFH athletes encouraged kids to continue to exercise as it has become a positive tool in their mental health battle against Type 1 diabetes. Above all, our athletes could not stress enough how important loving yourself and having a support system is to one’s mental health battle with diabetes.
“In any 18-month period, 33% to 50% of people with diabetes have diabetes distress.”
CDC (2022).
Every superhero, like every athlete, needs a team. In addition to working closely with their doctors and healthcare professionals, the athletes recognized that they needed to include their teammates, coaches and friends in their journey. Having the patience and courage to talk about their diabetes and educate their friends and team made it easier for those around them to support them in their journeys. Raising awareness and deconstructing misconceptions through education on diabetes not only helped these athletes gain the trust and support of their sports leagues, but has also made it easier for more athletes with diabetes to join professional sport teams.
Based on the amazing session we had with Children’s Diabetes Foundation, AFH has put together a superhero profile for the amazing athletes that took the time out to join the session and inspire others like them.
Andy Rose
Seattle Sounders Assistant Coach
Origin Story: Diagnosed at 26 years old in the prime of his professional soccer career in England
Super powers: Discipline, professionalism
Favorite pre-game snack: Gummy Bears
Motto: Be your own best friend!
Mental health hack: You have to be able to talk through things
Anissa Gamble
Former hockey player, Dental student
Origin Story: A former professional Hockey player and currently a qualifying dentist and diabetes researcher, Anissa was diagnosed when she was 8 years old.
Super powers: Gratitude and Being Purposeful
Favorite pre-game snack: Peanut butter
Motto: Smooth seas don’t make good sailors, so give yourself a pat on the back!
Mental health hack: Exercise, loving yourself, and checking into yourself regularly
Chad Muma
Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker
Origin Story: Diagnosed at 13 years old while going through puberty
Super powers: Positivity, discipline, and consistency
Favorite pre-game snack: Fruit snack
Motto: I’m still going to do what I said I’m going to do!
Mental health hack: Educating those around you so they know how to support you
As Diabetes Day (November, 11, 2022) approaches, AFH looks forward to sharing all the work these athletes and other athletes with Type 1 Diabetes are doing to advocate and raise awareness for children and athletes with diabetes.
Jaser SS. Psychological problems in adolescents with diabetes. Adolesc Med State Art Rev. 2010 Apr;21(1):138-51, x-xi. PMID: 20568561; PMCID: PMC3721971.
While the players we met at the 2022 Senior Bowl are getting ready for the next stage of their careers, some of them took time out of their busy schedules to bring smiles to the faces of kids who need it most.
These visits featured: 🏈 Perrion Winfrey of Oklahoma 🏈 Cameron Thomas of SDSU 🏈 Leon O’Neal of Texas A&M 🏈 Braxton Jones of Southern Utah 🏈 Matt Waletzko of North Dakota 🏈 Sterling Weatherford of Miami University 🏈 Jordan Silver of Arkansas 🏈 Dameon Pierce of Florida 🏈 Tycen Anderson of Toledo 🏈 Chris Paul of Tulsa
“The visit was so much fun! Hands down the highlight of my week!”
Chris Paul, Tulsa Football
It’s always an honor to work with athletes at any point in their athletic journey, but it’s extra special to witness the next generation – days before one of the biggest moments in their lives – make an impact in such a meaningful way.
Unsurprisingly, the feedback we received from our hospital partners was nothing short of amazing.
“I just wanted to send you a quick thank you for helping recruit our amazing guests today. Matt, Jordan, and Sterling were so fun and really great sports. We were all truly impressed with their acting, drawing, and sculpting skills! Please let them know how appreciative we are that they took the time to play a game with us and answer some questions [about playing football].”
Leslie Scott, Child Life Specialist at Children’s Wisconsin
Another thank you to the Senior Bowl for making AFH a part of their offerings to players in February. We like to think it goes a long way!
