The Hobart and William Smith athletic departments have put a great deal of time and effort into giving back to the community, through fundraisers, clinics and volunteer work this year. Everyone from student-athletes to coaches and staff took part in a variety of projects.

On Oct. 22, the Statesmen football team hosted its Touchdown & Tackles for Happiness fundraiser.  The initiative asks donors to pledge $1 for every tackle Hobart made and $7 for every touchdown or donate a flat rate. Happiness House offers an array of educational, therapeutic, recreational and family support programs and is known for its excellent school for children with physical and learning disabilities. Throughout the academic year, Hobart football players visited Happiness House to assist teachers and interact with students.

The Heron basketball squad participated in a PAWS night at Geneva's West Street Elementary School. The event is a time for students and families to come and participate in activities together. The activities include a technology piece, a literacy portion and time for physical fitness. The Herons facilitated a basketball segment for the children and their families.

The Hobart lacrosse team recently joined forces with Harris Hill Elementary School in Penfield, N.Y., to help teach the kindergarten students a lesson on teamwork.  The lacrosse Statesmen and the kindergarteners combined efforts to collect canned food to donate to the Salvation Army.

This fall, the William Smith lacrosse team set up tables in the Scandling Center and collected $400 for the Beverly Animal Shelter, a no-kill facility located in Waterloo, N.Y. The Herons also were able to gather towels, crates, and fencing to give to the shelter.

The Hobart ice hockey team competed in the 2011 Cape Cod Lighthouse College Hockey Invitational Tournament. The tournament raised money for Donate Life America, a national non-profit group devoted to increasing organ, eye and tissue donation. The Statesmen embraced this cause and took it upon themselves to sell Hobart Hockey Helpers t-shirts so they could make an additional gift to Donate Life. The hockey team also started a partnership with Project Eye-to-Eye to raise money and awareness for the mentoring program. The organization has an HWS chapter, and it pairs children with learning disabilities or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with college students who share the same challenges.

Members of the William Smith swimming and diving team have been actively involved in Gilda's Club in Rochester. The organization provides a meeting place for people living with cancer, along with their families and friends. It helps to build social and emotional support as a supplement to medical care.

The Hobart hockey and soccer teams as well as the HWS sailing team have also volunteered their time to help instruct local youth in their respective sports. Statesmen hockey coaches and student-athletes ran a camp for area youth that included skating and skill instruction. All proceeds from the camp went to the Geneva Youth Hockey Organization. Hobart soccer coaches and student-athletes hosted their annual clinic for children in the Geneva YMCA Youth Soccer Program, and HWS sailing hosted a high school sailing clinic on Columbus Day and raised approximately $1,000 which they donated to cancer research.

Recently Hobart student-athletes, led by the Hobart Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), volunteered at the Geneva Rotary Club's annual Santa Train.  The event raises money for the Rotary Club's community service projects, including the Boys and Girls Club. Statesmen student-athletes, coaches and staff also manned the Salvation Army kettles this holiday season. They rang the bell outside of the Scandling Student Center and at Five Star Bank and Walgreens in Geneva.

The William Smith SAAC led an effort to get Heron teams to “adopt” a family or individual in need, and buy gifts for them. William Smith teams also helped out at the Community Lunch Program.

In addition, Heron teams have also been partnering with the Special Olympics. The swimming and diving team volunteers as swim coaches for the local Special Olympics chapter and in the spring will host an annual Special Olympics swim meet. The Heron basketball team also hosts an annual clinic for Special Olympians. William Smith soccer players spent time playing and teaching drills to Texas Special Olympics athletes before participating in the national semifinals in San Antonio.

The William Smith athletic department has been busy as well. The staff has participated in “Blue Jean Fridays” over the last year. Members of the athletic department could wear blue jeans to work in exchange for a donation. The Herons efforts have spread to other campus offices. Hobart Athletics joined in the effort this year. Together the two athletic departments have donated over $1500 to Embrace Your Sisters, an organization that provides short-term emergency financial assistance to those diagnosed with breast cancer living in Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and Yates counties.

In addition, Hobart and William Smith staffs each made contributions to the Colleges' Thanksgiving baskets and Christmas gift projects.

These are just a handful of recent examples of how the Statesmen and Heron student-athletes give back. Through the year, they continue to be active in the community. Looking ahead to 2012, the Hobart basketball team is planning to volunteer in gym classes at Skoi-Yase Primary School in Waterloo while the William Smith basketball team will participate in the 2012 Play 4Kay, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's annual fight against breast cancer.