When the Hillsdale College volleyball women brought in a box of tennis balls to the Hillsdale Humane Society, no one was more excited than the dogs.
The Hillsdale Charger sports teams participate in a variety of community service projects throughout the Hillsdale community.
“So many people from the community come to our games and support us that it’s important to give back,” sophomore volleyball player Lindsay Kostrzewa said.
The volleyball team volunteers at the Hillsdale Humane Society this semester. Although the players were only required to serve one day, they enjoyed it so much that they go back in small groups every Saturday.
“It’s hard to see all the animals there— it’s really sad,” sophomore volleyball player Caitlin Kopmeyer said. “You walk in, and it smells so bad. Although it’s not the best environment, they do the best they can.”
The dogs are very excited when the team comes to walk them on Saturdays. Some of the players even have favorite animals. Kostrzewa enjoys petting the cats.
“You can’t really do anything with the cats,” she said, “so I talk to them.”
The assistant coach Stephanie Gravel and her daughter are regular volunteers at the Humane Society and encouraged the volleyball team to join them.
“Our coaches really advocate giving back,” Kostrzewa said.
While the volleyball team serves at the Humane Society, the football team participates in a wide range of volunteer activities. The team works at the Mary Proctor Randall preschool, keep score at high school tournaments, and read in Jill Shreffler’s kindergarten class at Gier Elementary In Hillsdale. Shreffler is the wife of the Charger’s offensive coordinator, Nate Shreffler.
Junior quarterback Anthony Mifsud and two of his teammates visit Jill Shreffler’s class each week. They started in the fall during the busiest part of their season.
Mifsud said he enjoys reading stories to the kindergartners.
“The kids will pick out two-to-three books and sit on the reading rug while I sit in the chair,” he said. “After I read, we will talk about the story and see if there is a lesson to learn.”
Mifsud also plays word or number games with the kids.
Now that the off-season is here, the players have more time to serve 10 hours of required spring semester community service. Roughly 20 players signed up for “March is Reading Month” in Jill Shreffler’s class.
“The teacher builds it up saying, ‘These college football players are gong to come in and read!’” Mifsud said. “And we can remember when we were that age and were so excited to see college players come in.”
Helping out in a kindergarten class really appealed to Mifsud because his father is a teacher and his sister teaches a kindergarten class of her own.
“They are not always cooperative,” Mifsud said, “but if you get a group that works well and listens, it’s a nice break when you’re with 18 to 21 year-olds all day.”
While Mifsud and the football team enjoy working with children, the swim team recently started volunteering at Domestic Harmony, a shelter that helps women in the Hillsdale area who are victims of domestic violence.
Last spring, many girls from the team participated in a triathlon to raise money for the shelter. After the event, the team learned more about the organization.
“Just hearing the stories of these girls touched our hearts,” senior swimmer Diana Wilkinson said.
The team decided they wanted to become more involved in the community, and Wilkinson thought it would be a great idea to help Domestic Harmony.
This past Saturday, 10 women from the team went to help with some interior painting at the shelter. Wilkinson said they hope to get more involved over time.
Each Charger athletic team also sends two representatives to the Student Athlete Advisory Council. Every school in the GLIAC conference has a SAAC group.
“We are the voice for the Hillsdale College athletic community,” said junior baseball player Scott Lantis, vice president of Hillsdale’s SAAC. “And it’s nice to have a community of athletes. We have a pretty close knit group.”
SAAC participates in community service projects. They hold a Pink Wave fundraiser each year to raise money for breast cancer by selling T-shirts. Currently, they are working with the King’s Cupboard, a food pantry in Hillsdale.
The group is able to volunteer a few hours of their time each week and organize the new food shipments by rationing it into individual bags.
“It’s just busy work, but usually this lady does it all by herself.” Lantis said. “What could take her all week, takes us a few hours Sunday night.”
