Maple Leafs give relief by giving back

GOSHEN, Ind. – When associated with athletics, the word "community" most often relates to the idea of creating a close-knit group of teammates on and off the court or field of play.

For the Goshen College Athletic Department's 200-plus student-athletes, the 2008-09 school year has been a lesson in a more complete definition of community through the department's new project: "Leaf Relief."

Formed around the school's mascot – the Maple Leaf – and the college's core value of servant leadership, Leaf Relief is now an annual relief effort to help those in need. With a motto of "Leaf Belief is to give Relief," the program's three main goals are raising awareness for worthy causes, taking part in community service projects and raising funds for humanitarian efforts.

"We wanted to show how our student-athletes embrace the college's motto of 'Culture for Service,'" explained Women's Basketball Coach Steve Wiktorowski, who initiated the program. "It has enlarged our athletic community with everyone working together for a single cause, even though it has been done in different and unique ways."

The traditional understandings of community in athletics of building a team – while equally important – have often become merely the backdrop for the program. Maple Leaf student-athletes have been active in the local Goshen community through projects such as free basketball clinics for elementary school children, providing safety patrols for popular trick-or-treat locations on Halloween, a Toys for Tots Drive and a Family Fun Fest which brought over 100 kids onto campus for a day of free games and crafts.

It has been the more nontraditional ideas or understandings of community service, however, which have set the program apart. Take for instance a pre-season men's basketball team trip to a maximum-security prison in Michigan for a scrimmage.

"I think we all had certain stereotypes of what prison was like from movies and other media, but the trip really broke many of those down for us," said senior Bryce Bow, a physical education major and a guard on the team from Muncie, Ind. "We enjoyed the opportunity to move out of our comfort zone and reach out to a group of people whom much of society has given up on and show them grace."

While not every project has been that dramatic in scope, each has taught lessons of community and sacrifice outside the typical walls of a team. Dozens of student-athletes joined with the entire Goshen College campus community in March to help distribute food for an Elkhart County Feed the Children event. More than 5,000 local families in one of the areas hardest hit by the economic crisis were provided daily necessities

Over the past year as Elkhart County's unemployment rate has skyrocketed from below 5 percent to higher than 18 percent, the entire Goshen College community has witnessed the difficult situation many families are now facing. That is one reason that Maple Leafs Student-Athlete Advisory Board selected LaCasa, Inc. – a local organization that assists with the social and economic welfare of individuals, families and neighborhoods – as the program beneficiary of the year's Leaf Relief fundraising events, which has raised approximately $2,500 so far. It is also the reason head cross-country coach Doug Yoder ran the extra mile, more than literally.

Yoder led the school's first-ever indoor marathon, which amounted to 204 laps around the school's track. That was not enough for Yoder, however, as he continued an extra 38 laps to complete a 50-kilometer day, taking sponsors for each lap beyond the marathon.

"I know a lot of families from the community who have benefited from LaCasa's work, so it had a bit more of a personal meaning for me," Yoder said, adding that even 240 laps into the race he considered running further to help those in need.

Lending a hand in the local community has not been enough for Goshen student-athletes either. With well over half of the school's student-athletes from outside the state of Indiana and about 10 percent being international students, Maple Leaf student-athletes have taken Leaf Relief to national and even international levels.

While joining with nation-wide programs such as Coaches vs. Cancer and Pink Out, players and staff have helped raise awareness and funds for cancer research. The understanding of community has also gone well beyond the borders of this country with the sponsorship of a World Vision child in Rwanda and the Shoes for Kenya program. Developed by senior cross-country runner Sam Chege, a nursing major from Nairobi, the Shoes for Kenya program has gathered more than 100 pairs of used tennis shoes to be shipped to his home country, where most runners train barefoot because they cannot afford the luxury of the footwear.

"It is very important to us that our student-athletes are both leaders and servants in our campus community, the Goshen community and across the world," said Athletic Director Tim Demant. "Our athletes have proven that they will step up and exceed our expectations both on and off the field of play."

– By Josh Gleason, Goshen College Sports Information Director

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.