University of Louisville Athletics Wins NCAA Team Works Award
May 13, 2015 | General
University of Louisville student-athletes were recognized by the NCAA as one of the Top Four Community Service schools, placing first regionally and second overall. For its excellence in the community, Louisville was recognized nationally at the Men's Basketball Final Four in Indianapolis. Members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee accepted the award for their achievements in the community at Tuesday's baseball game versus Vanderbilt.
The Team Works Award is based on hours recorded through the Helper Helper application, an interactive community service mobile application which allows student-athletes to view and commit to upcoming community service opportunities while tracking their overall progress. The competition runs from January 5 through April 3, 2015.
Community Relations Assistant, Monica Negron played a large role in implementing the new community service application. "As a former student-athlete, I understand the importance of giving back to the Louisville community. By using Helper Helper, Cardinal student-athletes now have a one-stop shop for community service. They can view upcoming events, record previous commitments and also see how many service hours they have completed during their career."
Within the past several years, the highest amount of recorded community service hours was 5,830 hours. The 2014-15 school year saw a 137.5% increase with a record total of 8,027 community service hours. Student-athletes participated in a wide variety of activities benefiting different non-profit organizations. Below is list of several of the organizations where student-athletes provided much of their service:
Americana, Be the Match, Best Buddies, Dare to Care, Dreams with Wings, Family Scholar House, Friends of Jacyln, Go4theGoal Foundation, Kentucky Humane Society, Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies, Kosair Children's Hospital, Maryhurst, Metro Parks and Recreation Adapted Leisure Activities; One Love Foundation, RaiseRED, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research, USPIRITUS & various local elementary and middle schools.
To learn more about Cards Care or to request student-athlete volunteers click here
To see pictures of U of L student-athletes out in the community check out the CardsCare Flickr page
