NCCAA Athletes Participate in Community Service Projects
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Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
National Christian College Athletic Association Championship athletes rolled up their sleeves Tuesday and participated in community service projects. The athletes are part of the NCCAA Division 1 Basketball Championship that runs today through Saturday at the Orthopaedic Capital Center on the Grace College campus in Winona Lake. The athletes from 16 colleges, including Grace, volunteered at local elementary schools, including Lakeland Christian Academy, Kiddie Kollege at Freewill Methodist Church, and Madison, Washington, Leesburg, Claypool, Lincoln, Jefferson, Eisenhower and Harrison. Other locations were Miller’s Merry Manor, Heartline Pregnancy Center, Grace Village, Combined Community Services and Salvation Army. Women’s teams are Grace College, Union University, California Baptist University, Cedarville University, Southern Nazarene University, Shorter University, Oklahoma Christian University, and Roberts Wesleyan College. Men’s qualifying teams are Fresno Pacific University, Cedarville University, Oklahoma Christian University, Mid-America Christian University, Shorter University, Spring Arbor University, Tennessee Temple University and Roberts Wesleyan College. There were 14 basketball players from Grace College’s women’s team who interacted with children at Heartline Pregnancy Center’s Teens N’ Tots daycare Tuesday morning. Juaneice Jackson, a junior sports management and counseling major at Grace College, said she has completed in the service projects the past three years. This year was her second year for volunteering at Heartline. “Any way that we can help and impact just one of these children’s lives is great. Just to see the smiles on their faces is amazing,” Jackson said. Jackson said going out to serve others is what Christians are called to do, and said it is important to give back to the community. Scott Blum, Grace College women’s basketball coach, said the service projects are important. “The NCCAA is so much more than just playing basketball, it’s about serving the community and others,” Blum said. Amy Rosswurm, Heartline program coordinator, said the kids at Heartline look forward to seeing the athletes every year. “The athletes get to make a big impact on the kids and show them if they want to be a basketball player when they get older they have the opportunity to do that,” Rosswurm said. Oklahoma Christian University men’s basketball team athletes volunteered at LCA. There were 14 teammates who cleaned the cafeteria and vacuumed the main office and sanitized equipment in the weight room. Dan Hays, coach, said it is nice to have the opportunity to help the school. “This is servant leadership and a great way to give back to the community,” Hays said. Devan White, a senior at OCU, said this was his first year for doing community service work in Winona Lake. “It is always good to help others and I am glad we were able to do that today,” White said. Tim Yocum, LCA athletic director, said it was helpful to have the athletes complete the service projects. “I think the NCCAA tournament does a great job of getting everyone involved and is a great opportunity for athletes to help others,” Yocum said. Southern Nazarene University women’s basketball team athletes spent time with residents at Grace Retirement Village in Winona Lake. Katie Beebe, a senior physical therapy major at Southern Nazarene University, painted resident’s nails and cleaned the chairs and tables with her teammates. “Just visiting and hearing the stories of the residents was rewarding,” Beebe said. “This is a very Christian atmosphere and it has been great talking to the residents.” Derek Dorris, Southern Nazarene University coach, said volunteering allows the athletes to interact with those they would not have otherwise come into contact with. “This gives our athletes the opportunity to put needs of others before themselves,” Dorris said.
