NCCAA Athletes Complete Service Projects In County
NCCAA Athletes Complete Service Projects In County
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
NCCAA Athletes Complete Service Projects In CountyNational Christian Colleges Athletic Association athletes practiced teamwork off the court by completing service projects in Kosciusko County Wednesday.
The athletes are participating in the NCCAA Division I Basketball Championships that kicks off today.
There are eight teams participating in the Women's Division 1 basketball championship at Grace College's Orthopaedic Capital Center. The NCCAA Championships tips off today at 1 p.m. and runs through the championship game Saturday at 5 p.m.The teams met at Ramada Plaza Hotel, Warsaw, at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday and loaded up on buses to travel to the volunteer locations in the county.
Teams who participated in the required service projects in Kosciusko County Wednesday morning were Grace College; Mid-America Christian University, Oklahoma City, Okla.; Nyack College, Nyack, N.Y.; Oakland City University, Oakland City, Ind.; Trinity International University, Deerfield, Ill.; Palm Beach Atlantic University, Palm Beach, Fla.; Emmanuel College, Franklin Springs, Ga.; and Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Mount Vernon, Ohio.
The teams volunteered at Grace Village, Cardinal Services, Miller's Merry Manor, Jefferson Elementary, Heartline Pregnancy Center, Sellers Lake and Kosciusko Community Hospital.
Chad Briscoe, Grace College athletic director, said he hopes the athletes who volunteered will create an excitement in the community for further community service.
"It's a blessing that they are giving back to the community," Briscoe said.
Josh Thompson, Nyack College head coach, said he was glad his team could participate in the community service.
"Volunteering is a way to reach out and show the love of Christ to the people in this community," Thompson said. "I hope the teams will get out of their comfort zone and help people who do not have as much."
Women's basketball players from Grace College and Nyack College worked with Housing Opportunities of Warsaw staff to install energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs on residents' porches in Sellers Lake. There were 88 homes on five roads that received the bulbs.
Ace Hardware, Warsaw, provided the bulbs at wholesale cost. The bulbs use one-fourth of the electricity of an incandescent bulb and last six to 10 years.
The athletes walked door to door braving cold temperatures and flooding and installed light bulbs on residents' porches and filled out a survey of homeowners energy needs.
The event was sponsored by Kosciusko REMC Operation Round-Up, Kosciusko REMC, Ace Hardware, United Way of Kosciusko County and Housing Opportunities of Warsaw.
Khamari Tellis, a freshman from Nyack College, said she was glad to have the opportunity to volunteer.
"It's good to incorporate community service in our visit here and see how other people live," Tellis said.
Kate Ball, a Grace College freshman, said she thought the experience was rewarding.
"I think it is a great opportunity to do community service with the teams we will be competing against in the championship," Ball said.
Leah Jiminez, Sellers Lake resident, was appreciative of receiving the light bulb.
"I like to use the light bulbs in my kitchen and they help me save on my energy bill." Jiminez said.
The homeowners who answered questions to the survey were entered into a drawing to receive a free energy makeover in April by REMC.
"Our purpose is to encourage families to start changing out their incandescent bulbs to CFL bulbs for savings on their energy bills," said Pam Kennedy, HOW executive director.
