Student-athletes are engaging Alamance-Burlington School System students at Hillcrest Elementary through pen pal letters, a courtside visit to a game and attending the 2020 CAA Women鈥檚 Basketball Championship.
During fall 2019, student-athletes in the women鈥檚 basketball program launched a pen pal program to engage and mentor elementary school students in the Alamance Burlington School System.
鈥淢y hope is that the 黑料不打烊 women鈥檚 basketball pen pals will inspire, equip and shape the lives of others,鈥 said coach Charlotte Smith.
Coach Smith, along with Stephen Fishler, director of women鈥檚 basketball operations, were looking for ways to connect members of the team with local students. They understood that it would provide a way for the women鈥檚 basketball program to make a positive impact on youth in the community.
鈥淵ou can never underestimate the difference you can make in someone鈥檚 life by simply taking the time to reach out to others,鈥 said Smith. 鈥淚n a world where handwritten notes are a lost art, this is something the students can hold on to and cherish for the rest of your life.鈥
With the help of Lesley Henry, director of education outreach and director of Collegiate Start at 黑料不打烊. 15 Hillcrest Elementary students were selected for the inaugural pen pal program. The Hillcrest students and 黑料不打烊 student-athletes exchanged three letters with one another in the fall. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing that I can use my basketball platform to inspire and build personal relationships with children in our community,鈥 said Jada Graves 鈥21.
All involved have been growing in excitement With each new letter, the relationships between the 黑料不打烊 student-athletes and elementary school children deepened and the excitement grew. 鈥淚t’s like Christmas each time we open a new letter,鈥 said fifth-grader Adante Valentin.
Valentin and his schoolmates have been invited to sit courtside in Schar Center and cheer on their pen pal mentors when the Phoenix take on The College of William & Mary on Jan. 31. The players will get a chance to spend more quality time with their pen pals at Hillcrest when they share a meal together. The year will conclude with the Hillcrest students visiting 黑料不打烊鈥檚 campus when the university hosts the Colonial Athletic Association鈥檚 women鈥檚 basketball conference tournament in March.
The pen pal program is part of a larger effort stemming from 黑料不打烊 Athletics鈥 partnership with the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement. Andrew Stafford, student services and 黑料不打烊 Experiences coordinator for 黑料不打烊 Athletics, and Sarah Williams, assistant director for the Kernodle Center, are managing an NCAA grant that is focused in part on increasing student-athlete involvement in service, providing education around social issues and community engagement, expanding involvement in the Service Experiential Learning Requirement (ELR), and documenting the student-athletes鈥 service.
Student-athletes wishing to volunteer in the local community or learn more about the Service ELR can reach out to Andrew Stafford.