Wildcats give back to their local communities during summer months

Wildcats give back to their local communities during summer months

8/9/2022 11:51:00 AM | Women's Volleyball, #WildcatsCare

All 21 volleyball student-athletes volunteered in a variety of ways in giving back to their local home communities

DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire volleyball program spent the summer months volunteering in their local communities to stress the importance of giving back.

"Here at UNH we prioritize the experience, part of the experience comes with helping our community, along with being great student-athletes," said fourth-year head coach Christopher Feliciano. "I am extremely proud of our group, as we challenge them to be involved in their community this summer, they surpassed the expectation."

Gabby Smith - I did my community service working at Changing Footprints. We sorted all sorts of donated shoes to help the homeless as well as people overseas in Ukraine.
Smith

Shea Purcell - For my service this summer I worked a fundraiser for at my mother's school. I taught a yoga class and had a luncheon after with the alums of the school who participated after. It was a really great experience. I had all different ages and skill levels. Everyone came to move and breathe together outside the school. They each shared memories at the school and we also toured them through the new parts of the school. For the rest of my hours I helped my mom with various projects in her office and outside of.
Purcell

Marisa Armer - This summer I volunteered at DeSoto National Memorial Park picking up garbage along the shoreline. Doing so prevented both land and aquatic animals from ingesting trash.
Armer

Jamison White - I volunteered at Second Harvest food bank! Here, I sorted through 5,000 lbs of frozen food which will eventually be turned into 4,000 meals for those with food insecurity in middle Tennessee.
White

Wren Macaulay - I spent the morning cleaning up Seapoint beach in Maine. It's one of my favorite spots to enjoy a day off and get some fresh air here in New England.

Mia Pagliarini - I spent an afternoon with rescued animals. This included baby goats to help with being comfortable around people.

Nadia Goich - For my community service project I packaged food bags for children in need at Feed my Starving Children. They help malnourished children all around the world. It was rewarding to work with such a noble cause.
Goich

Kelly Kaufmann - I volunteered in the garden at Holly Springs Food Cupboard this summer. We maintained the garden, harvested, and packaged various foods for the food bank, which serves local families in need in the area. In North Carolina.

Kaleigh Whalen - For my community service project I went to the local food pantry here in New Hampshire and helped sort food, package food and deliver them to families cars.
Whalen

Camryn Honn - I was able to reach out and support my community while sorting and packing produce at Harvesters Food Network. It's always an amazing experience providing service to my community while helping others around you.

Honn

Lindsey Kriendler - I spent one morning at the Houston Food Bank in downtown Houston. The Houston Food Bank is Americas largest food bank in distribution leading hunger relief providing access to 207 million nutritious meals in 18 southeast Texas counties. We spent the morning bagging fresh produce and sorting non-perishables to be distributed out to several counties. I am thankful that I got to work alongside fellow Houstonians to give back to the community that we love!
Kriendler

Kara Oxenknecht - For my community service project I packed food at Feed My Starving Children here in Chicago. It was fun talking with the other volunteers and I'm glad I was able to help my community in supporting global needs.

Avery LePore - My family and I have been donating to the Humane Society since I was younger. It always feels good to be able to donate to a foundation that takes care of their animals. Donating to the Humane Society provides care needed for abandoned animals. Also being able to interact with the animals to assist with better socialization is very rewarding.
LePore

Meredith Hohnbaum - For my community service I spent one morning at my home church, Holy Cross Lutheran in Indianapolis, helping set up a classroom for a teacher who just had surgery. I organized cabinets full of assorted readers and books and cleaned out the work stations for the students. I love organizing, so it was a perfect way to give back to my community.

Hohnbaum

Millie Grove - Town and Country Theater is a non profit community Theater in Bucks County PA. The theater is completely run by volunteers and has been in existence for 75 years. I was happy to join them one Friday night. They are always looking for ushers, ticket booth volunteers etc. The theater is in a over 100 year old barn and has limited space for parking cars. The show for the evening was sold out. I worked with my new friend Jim guiding the cars to make sure everyone has a spot.
Grove

Meredith Dixon - For my community service I went on a beach clean up on the Fort Lauderdale beach in South Florida. I spent the morning walking up and down the shore picking up trash that the waves brought in from the ocean.
Dixon

Erin Hedrick - This summer I decided to give back to the community that I call home in New Jersey! I went to a local park that I grew up going to with family and friends and cleaned up all the trash I could find. I really enjoyed giving back to a community that allowed me to grow so much as an individual.

Hedrick

Katherine Kouba - It's always nice to give back to my community in any way that I can. For my community service I decided to clean up Iowa's roadside, so I decided to pick up trash/litter all around me. I think it's important to live in a clean environment to better my community by making it a clean, safe and beautiful area for everyone to live. It's important to me to impact my area in a positive way.

Kouba

Grace Tomann - For my community service I volunteered at my local volleyball camp. It was run by my old high school coach and through the town rec department. We spent the week focusing on building strong volleyball foundations and learning skills for their future on the Haldane volleyball team.

Tomann

Hannah Serbousek - I volunteered with Wildlands Restoration this summer that helps with reintroducing native species of plants back into the plains of Colorado

Colette Barnes - I spent the morning at my community church harvesting vegetables and tending to the local garden, organized by the Riverside Garden Society. We were able to gather enough to make 6 bags for families who do not have access to fresh produce. After that we delivered each bag to their doorstep.

Barnes