Dec. 5, 2016
South Carolina student-athletes recently wrapped up the Fourth Annual Week of Giving. The Gamecocks took time out to volunteer in the community at various organizations in the Columbia area.
“The Week of Giving was a tremendous success,” said Erica Nelson, director of life skills and community outreach. “Each year it just gets bigger with the number of student-athletes involved and the areas of Columbia we can impact. More than 100 student-athletes from every team participated and some participated multiple times last week. I couldn’t be happier!”
The Gamecocks spent time at places such as Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital, Habitat for Humanity, Dorn Veteran’s Hospital, Meals on Wheels, Transitions Homeless Shelter, Toys for Tots, Ronald McDonald House, City Roots Farm, and Harvest Hope Food Bank from Nov. 28 ââ’¬” Dec. 4.
“It’s not only valuable for the community, but it’s a valuable experience for the student-athletes to get out there and see a different perspective,” said junior men’s tennis student-athlete Thomas Mayronne. “Whether it’s helping people who are less fortunate or working with organizations that are low on man-power, it’s very fulfilling. It’s really important for us to see that there is a lot of other things going on outside of athletics and school. There is a lot outside of the little bubble we live in. It’s really a duty of ours to get out there and help out as much as possible.”
“This is a great way to get involved,” said Taylor Vincent, a senior on the swim team. “When you do get involved, you can see yourself actually affecting people. The look on their faces when you are serving them dinner at the homeless shelter or just when they see that you are happy to see them, it’s a good feeling.”
