[KWU] Kansas Wesleyan Athletes Recognized For Community Service

The Kansas Wesleyan softball and women's soccer teams finished first and second in the nation in community service per student during the 2019 NAIA Champions of Charity contest. During the contest's promotional timeframe of February 1 to April 1, student-athletes completed community service projects, recording them on Helper Helper, an app that develops a service portfolio for each student.

The softball team led the nation with 34 hours of community service per student during the promotion timeframe. The women's soccer team was second while the football program was also in the national Top 20, ranked 18th.

As a department, Kansas Wesleyan finished third in the Champions of Charity contest. KWU is the only school to finish in the Top 3 in the contest in both years, after finishing second a year ago in the inaugural competition. Throughout the competition, student-athletes nationwide logged more than 4,000 hours of community service which translated into over $104,000 of economic impact. A team's finish in the competition is based on the hours per student-athlete average throughout the competition.

Fisher College (Mass.) was the top institution in the competition, with Soka University (Calif.) coming in second followed by Kansas Wesleyan.

"Community service has become a part of the student-athlete culture at Kansas Wesleyan," said Mike Hermann, vice president and director of athletics. "Our institution benefits from its location in Salina and our student-athletes enjoy giving back through a variety of service opportunities. During the promotion, several key programs took place including the Red Cross Blood Drive, the second annual Night to Shine event and our March reading program with elementary schools. The service opportunities really add value to the student's experience at Kansas Wesleyan. It's become a real pride point."