Softball player Keri Palma giving blood at the September 11th Blood Drive. |
Community Service Abounds for the 49er Athletic Department
Sept. 26, 2008
Charlotte, N.C. - Right on the heels of its latest community service project, the September 11th Blood Drive, the Charlotte 49er Athletic Department is gearing up for a pair of big community service projects in the Charlotte and Mecklenburg County areas.
Beginning on Monday, September 29th and running through Friday, October 3rd, the 49er athletic department will travel to Nevin Community Park to take part in the Hearts and Hands Playground Build.
Then on the fourth of October, the student athletes will host the Epilepsy Stroll at the Irwin Belk Track Facility.
Charlotte's playground build will consist of over 250 student-athletes and staff taking part in building a new playground for the greater Charlotte area.
"We're very excited to have the entire athletic department involved in one huge community service project," said Mark Verburg, Assistant Director of the Athletic Academic Center and Director of LifeSkills.
All of the 49er teams will be taking part in the build at Nevin Park, with the athletic department and staff also chipping in a helping hand for a great cause which is being spurred on by the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Department with NASCAR pioneer Humpy Wheeler being the Honorary Chairman.
The Nevin Park Playground will be accessible for all children and will have a NASCAR theme with a Victory Circle, Pit Row and a track style layout for the main section of the park.
Also on the radar for Verburg and company is the Stroll for Epilepsy at Belk Track on Saturday, October 4th.
With over 75,000 North Carolinians being stricken with the debilitating disease, the Stroll for Epilepsy provides funding for the Epilepsy Foundation of North Carolina to assist in providing medication, professional training and counseling to those who suffer from the effects of epilepsy.
Student-athletes and staff will be on-site walking and rounding up donations during the event which begins at 9:00 a.m and involves a 12 and a half lap journey around the track.
Other notes:
September 11th's Blood Drive drew 138 donors and 136 pints of blood.
Charlotte's Volleyball team is taking part in the Dig for a Cure event by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, with their Dig for a Cure game coming on October 25th when Rhode Island comes to town. For more information go to the 49er Volleyball webpage and click on the Dig for a Cure link on the right side.
