Photo by Stasia Demick
It’s 2014, and the world still struggles in many losing battles against hunger, poverty, war and countless natural disasters. On Wednesday, Jan. 13, Waves athletes commenced a new initiative for change. In the first Athlete Service Day, many student-athletes, coaches and sports administration workers served as a unified community at the Children’s Hunger Fund’s warehouse in Sylmar, California.
The idea originated from Drew Hacker, a baseball player whose team served at CHF on Step Forward day last semester. The initiative was taken up by SAC, the Student Athletic Committee, which aims to unite athletes in community service and sportsmanship to enhance the athlete experience. Co-President Lisa Sandtroch had high hopes for the first Athlete Service Day.
“Drew Hacker (co-president) and I wanted to have an innovative idea on how to serve. It’s about giving back but also working together as a unified athletics department under the mission of competing with purpose,” Sandtroch said.
The day consisted of a 7 a.m. wake up call and a one-hour bus ride to CHF’s headquarters in Sylmar. Then, the volunteers were divided up into three sections of service: learning about CHF’s mission, packaging food for families, and sorting clothes for the typhoon victims in the Philippines.
Head volunteer coordinator Liana Hofer explained CHF’s mission to provide hope for children who are suffering both physically and spiritually. She launched a ‘healthy competition’ between teams to see who could bag the most food in a 25-minute race. In that span of time, the athletes bagged 675 bags of food to provide for families suffering from hunger. Cross Country freshman Simona Saunti was enthusiastic about the competition and volunteer work.
“I had a great time bonding with my teammates while helping people across the world,” Santi said.
Additionally, teams sorted through used and new clothes from donators to deliver shirts, pants and jackets to victims of the typhoon that hit the Philippines in 2013. Hofer remarked on how watching communities come together to volunteer was the most rewarding part of her job.
“My favorite part is getting to work with such fantastic volunteers who care about changing lives. It’s about knowing you’re making a difference around the world,” Hofer said.
Children’s Hunger Fund welcomes 24,000 volunteers per year into their Sylmar warehouse, providing mission training and opportunities to bag food and clothes like the Waves did on Wednesday. Their doors are open three days a week for service opportunities. Anne Stone, Athletics’ nutritionist, provided insight on her experience serving with the athletes that she often works with to help in sports performance.
“It was a very fulfilling experience to see our student athletes participate and give so generously of their time. I enjoyed not only being part of such a rewarding service but getting to see the student-athletes in action for such a worthy cause,” Stone said.
January has its fair share of personal New Year’s resolutions and self-betterment initiatives. The challenge is putting it into action. The Waves community represented the Pepperdine Athletics’ mantra of ‘Competing with Purpose’ during this new annual service day. Although the fight against poverty is far from won, Wednesday allowed the Athletics Department, led by student-athletes, to play a good game in the series of service necessary to make 2014 a year of global unity and prosperity.
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Follow Stasia Demick on Twitter: @sdemick12
