southern university Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Athletes for Hope

Join us in breaking down the stigma: become a Mental Health Champion today

Athletes in Action

Athletes in Action

April 2022 AFH University Recap!

As we approach the end of the school year, class schedules may be slowing down but AFH University service projects are as strong as ever. Take a look at some of the highlights below to see what AFH U student-athletes have been up to over the past month!

In Baton Rouge, LSU Volleyball served at a booth at the Baton Rouge Zippity Zoo Festival community event while LSU Athletics as a whole hosted a field day for middle schoolers at LA Key Academy. Student-athletes from Beach Volleyball, Gymnastics, Indoor Volleyball, Cross Country ran different stations and interacted directly with the students.

college athletes post with two children outside

“Getting to engage with the middle schoolers was so rewarding. You could tell they felt seen and for me, they helped bring laughter and fun to the whole field day.”

Ellie Shank, LSU Beach Volleyball

As part of their student-athlete week at Southern University, AFH U partnered with NAMI Louisiana to host a mental health awareness event. NAMI Louisiana director, Lashonda Williams, J.D. lead a discussion around stress management and the importance of whole athlete wellness, Nicole Wesley of Pennington shared an opportunity for female athletes to participate in a psychological resilience study, followed by a yoga session facilitated by former student athlete, Maya Anderson.

In Charlottesville, UVA hosted its first “UNITY Walk” which was was organized by SAAC Vice President and BOSS (Black student-athletes Offering Service and Support) leader Milla Ciprian. Working with groundskeepers, she says that the goal of the walk was to “educate our peers on the historical and lingering effects of the impact of structural racism from the perspective of Charlottesville community members.” In turn, this walk helped connect student-athletes at UVA with the Charlottesville community, an important step in improving the relationship between the two.

As citizens who live and work in the city of Charlottesville, there is an opportunity to learn more about the untold history of Charlottesville and its inhabitants. Our intention is to connect and begin creating a relationship with the local community.

Milla Ciprian
a group of UVA students stand in a street

Moving up the east coast to Washington, D.C., Howard Women’s Basketball assisted and cheered for youth with disabilities during a basketball game with athletes from KEEN Greater D.C.

MSU Field Hockey and Football promoted the Be The Match None Marrow Registry around campus by getting students, friends, and family members to sign up for the live saving registry.

“Be The Match is a great event to help educate people on the importance of bone marrow donation saving lives. It’s an event that my team looks forward to hosting every year and we are excited to grow the registry every year.”

Cara Bonshak, MSU Field Hockey

Last but not least, we had a wonderful session, “Creating a Social Justice Mindset” with student-athletes in the AFH U Sports Philanthropy Certificate Program. Track and Field runner Marvellous Iheukwumere spoke with student-athletes about gender and racial equality, sexual assault and chronic disease advocacy.

Join us in congratulating AFH University student-athletes for once again going above and beyond in giving back to their communities!

Athletes in Action

March 2022 AFH University Recap!

Three things are always constant in March at AFH: the weather starts getting warmer, the sun shines a little brighter, and our AFH University student-athletes are constantly giving back!

This year, our March activations mainly focused on disability awareness and inclusion opportunities with kids from all over the country. Our AFH U Baton Rouge campuses:

  • Began weekly baseball games with Miracle League which will go through May
  • Hosted a field day with LA Key Academy elementary students
  • Helped with a house painting project with The Walls Project

AFH U Howard student-athletes also worked with K.E.E.N. Greater DC players at a basketball clinic.

It was just fun being able to play with kids who have nothing but pure joy for the game. It reminded me of how I felt about the game when I was younger, so they truly are an inspiration to remember to be grateful for every moment on the field.

Raquel Latta #14, Southern Softball

Take a look at some of the amazing highlights in the gallery below and join us in celebrating these incredible student-athletes for bringing smiles to so many!

AFH Welcomes 2020 Fall Interns

Athletes for Hope offers ways for college students and college student-athletes to make a difference while learning valuable skills through our internship program. Our interns help us carry out our day-to-day work and this semester, we have three new interns from Louisiana who are assisting us in a variety of ways. Meet Aubri James, TarynDeShay Antoine and Courtney Henderson.

Aubri James

Aubrion James is a 22 year-old first-year MBA student at Southern University and A&M College. Originally from Madison, AL, Aubri loves her family, staying active, and God. She will be starting her fifth season of eligibility as a pitcher and outfielder in spring 2021, due to the
cancellation of the spring 2020 season.

Taryn Antoine

Taryn Deshay Antoine was born on September 23 in Alexandria, Louisiana. Her parents are Travis and Robertha Antoine. She is an only child beginning her 4th year on the Lady Tigers Softball Team. She has served on SAAC for 3 consecutive years and has been the Community
Service Executive Officer for two of those. She plans to major in Kinesiology Pre-Occupational Therapy.

Courtney Henderson

“This fall I am entering into my 5th season on the soccer team at LSU. I am originally from Rogers, MN. I grew up in a wonderful community, so the emphasis that Athletes for Hope places on having a positive impact on the community is super important to me! I have worked alongside Athletes for Hope for the past four years while being a member of the LSU Student Athlete Advisory Committee. This year I have the privilege of serving as the SAAC Vice President. My major is General Business, and I am double minoring in Social Work and International Studies. I am really looking forward to this opportunity!”

AFH University’s Southern Baseball Beautifies Local School

On Tuesday, August 11th Southern Baseball partnered with Volunteers in Public Schools for a campus beautification project at Cedarcrest-Southmoor Elementary. With a donation from Mid City Redevelopment, the team of 50 were able to help beautify the school’s campus by cleaning and planting flower beds and gardens.

”It is always great to get out to help as a team as much as we possibly can. Giving back to public schools in Louisiana is extremely important and we’re happy to serve our community in that way. It makes us feel good and people we’re helping feel good.” – Hampton Hudson, AFH SU Basbeball

“I went to public schools in New Orleans. So being able to give back to public schools and give them the help they need is always important to me. It also gives us an opportunity to show our new teammates what it is like to give back. I hope they take something back from every community service project.”- Jacob Snyder, AFH SU Baseball

“We are excited to be here at Cedarcrest doing some beautification projects while the kids are away. When they come back to school after the virtual learning environment, they’ll come back to a great campus. We would like to thank Mid City Redevelopment for their donation of the tools. We had all 50 of our guys out here today and it was a beautiful experience. ”- Coach Kerrick Jackson, Southern Baseball

“We have had an amazing morning at Cedarcrest. They were able to clean out our school garden and make the entrance of our school very inviting. Even though we don’t have students here right now we are constantly preparing for their return. We would like to thank our community partners for working along with us for this project.”- Ms. Sylvain, Cedarcrest-Southmoor Elementary Principal

LSU and Southern University Soccer teams Join Forces

Athletes for Hope University teams continue to show their passion by getting involved in their local communities. This past week, LSU and Southern Soccer teams participated in TopSoccer’s annual jamboree on March 10th, at Burbank Soccer Complex in Baton Rouge, LA. TOPSoccer is a community based training and team placement program for athletes with disabilities organized by the Baton Rouge Soccer Club.
Soccer players from LSU and Southern had the opportunity to assist TopSoccer participants throughout the jamboree including leading drills and cheering them on after plays. Along with our AFH U teams, this event was supported by BREC, The Louisiana Marathon, Raising Cane’s, St. Lillian Academy, Families Helping Families of Greater Baton Rouge, and The Arc.

AFH University Teams Celebrate MLK Day

AFH University teams in Baton Rouge celebrated the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by participating in the MLK Festival of Service hosted by The Walls Project. This four day event consisted of painting blighted buildings and murals, planting community gardens and trees, stenciling house numbers on curbs for first responders, repairing fences, and hauling trash away from properties. The MLK Festival of Service was in partnership with a vast network of 70+ local community organizations. Over the course of the 4-day event, 9 teams completed over 650 community service hours.

Southern Baseball

“It was a great feeling to collaborate with my team and new people through service at the MLK Festival of Service”- Malik Blaise

“The importance of community service on MLK Day is to come together as one. I enjoyed helping out today and it was an honor to make a difference with my team.”-   Javeayean Williams

“It was a wonderful experience coming together as a team to give back on MLK Day.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Southern Softball

“Dr.King always advocated for equality and for all races to work side by side together. With all of the problems of today’s society, it warmed my heart to see his dream in action as people of all backgrounds came together to beautify the city.”- Adriane Roberson

Southern Tennis

“It was great volunteering and an even greater feeling watching all the work everyone was putting in collectively come together. Together we created a cleaner and prettier neighborhood. Even in the cold everyone was excited and determined! Our team decided to volunteer because it is important for us to use our gifts and give back.” – Rufaro Chirewa

Southern Soccer

“Seeing everyone come together to build the community up was simply amazing. It was very uplifting and a great thing to be apart of as well as a great team experience.” – Makenzie Eddings

“Today was a great experience seeing so many people come out and devote their time giving back to the community. Everyone worked hard and did a good job on the paintings. –Khadijah Ahmad

“Last weekend’s service at the MLK Festival of Service was very inspirational. The murals were beautiful and it was a great team bonding experience.”- Taylor Coleman

Southern Volleyball    

“I appreciate this opportunity to give back to my community and help with the beautification process at the MLK Festival of Service.” -Arabella Hall

Southern Track & Field

“The overall experience on today was phenomenal! The enlightenment from individuals and team bonding was more than heart warming. We are THE Southern University Track and Field Team and we are proud to make a difference!”- Jamira Russ

LSU Track & Field

“Going out and doing something for my community was a small glimpse of what Martin Luther King Jr. did for my generation and future generations. It’s a good feeling to impact one person, but an even greater feeling to impact a whole community.”-Mikiah Briscoe

“On my way to help paint, the streets were lined with volunteers hard at work. It was so cool to work alongside so many people out celebrating MLK’s legacy.”-Erika Lewis

“I think it was a really good idea to celebrate MLK by spending the day using art to get to know new people and to beautify the community.”- Kaiyln McCarley

LSU Volleyball

“It was an awesome experience seeing so many people from different backgrounds coming together to paint murals and brighten up the town. Despite the cold everyone there was happy to give a helping hand!” Sydney Mukes

LSU Soccer

“It was awesome to see the community getting together for a great cause and being part of it made it that much better.”- Marlena Cutura

“Being apart of an event that positively affects the community and celebrates a phenomenal hero was the most rewarding experience.”- Chrissy Pitre