Community service and engagement is a way of life for WSU student-athletes, and over the course of the 2016-17 academic year, they demonstrated that core value time and time again.
Each student-athlete is required to complete four hours of community engagement over the course of the year, but most go above and beyond that requirement. This year, WSU began using the app “Helper Helper,” which student-athletes use to track and coordinate hours of community engagement.
By the end of the year, 98% of student-athletes had signed up to use the Helper Helper app and collectively logged over 3,300 hours of community engagement – averaging 10.1 hours per student. The women’s golf team accumulated the highest number of volunteer hours per team member, with an average of 46.38 hours. Courtney Bergum ’20 ( Women’s Golf) and Nick Pridgeon ’18 (Football) were the recipients of the Hometown Hero awards, which go to the male and female student-athlete with the most volunteer hours logged for the year.
As a result of their efforts, Winona State was honored with two awards for community engagement. They received 3rd place in the NCAA Award of Excellence for “Step Out of Stigma Week,” during which student-athletes provided resources and encouragement for community members dealing with mental illness. The annual accolade recognizes positive campus and community engagement events.
They also finished 4th in a three-month community service competition throughout NCAA Division II, which was launched to encourage service outreach and give a platform for student-athletes to give back to their communities.
