Athletes honored for flood relief efforts

By Ashley Acosta
Cardinal Staff

Each year, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Division III, recognizes organizations for their contributions in community service projects and activities.

This year, Saint Mary’s University will take home the prize.

SMU athletes are recipients of the NCAA/Jostens Community Service Project Award for their efforts in aiding flood victims around the Winona area.

On Aug. 18, 2007, heavy rainfall flooded area riverbanks, causing devastating flooding in southeastern Minnesota.

At that time, a student-athlete advisory committee was looking at ways to strengthen camaraderie among athletic teams, so SMU officials focused their attention on flood relief. Nearly 200 athletes and coaches representing 10 sports bonded together and volunteered to sort through clothing, food and water, as well as clear debris and repair homes.

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“Adversity brings out goodness in people,” Brother William, president of SMU, said. “In this case, our student athletes recognized the opportunity they had as individuals, and more powerfully as teams, to share their strong
hearts, minds and bodies to really make a difference in putting lives back together.

“Our students, faculty and staff travel to inner cities and even in third-world countries to serve others in need. Many members of our own Saint Mary’s family lost everything in the August 2007 flood, and this was a reminder that we have the opportunity to serve each other right here in this campus community,” said Brother William.

SMU, Stephen Institute of Technology and York College of Pennsylvania will each be rewarded $1,000 for general scholarship funds. Ten other institutions have been honored by the NCAA since 2002. This year’s winners were recognized at a convention in Washington, D.C., in January.