Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team

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Members of the Daemen women's basketball team visited an elementary school during the 2017 NCAA Team Works Helper Helper Community Service Competition

General 4/25/2017 11:33:00 AM Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Daemen Student-Athletes Participate In NCAA-Sponsored Community Service Competition

Daemen Ranks 11th Among All NCAA Division II Schools In Community Service Hours

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College student-athletes earned a No. 11 ranking in the final standings among NCAA Division II schools participating in the 2017 NCAA Team Works Helper Helper Community Service Competition.

NCAA Team Works, which coordinates community service efforts at NCAA championships, and Helper Helper, a volunteer management and tracking platform, launched the community service competition to recognize student-athletes who give back to their communities. The competition ran from January through March. Rankings were developed based on the total number of community service hours completed and the participation rate of student-athletes.

Daemen's 16 intercollegiate athletic teams contributed nearly 400 hours of community service during the competition. Community service activities included reading to children at local elementary schools, a Relay for Life event which raised more than $8,800 for the American Cancer Society, participation in the Western New York Girls in Sport Service Day, a canned food drive in conjunction with Daemen's celebration of National Student-Athlete Day, delivering Valentine's Day cards at local nursing homes, and others. Student-athletes from the women's soccer team contributed 156 community service hours, the most of any Daemen team.

"Connecting student-athletes and member schools to their communities highlights the impact of leadership, collaboration and dedication in college sports and cities across the country," said Victor Hill, NCAA associate director of championships and community programs, in a press release posted to NCAA.com announcing the winners of the competition. "NCAA Team Works is proud to recognize the difference student-athletes make beyond the classroom and competition, while also supporting the student-athlete experience, their well-being and their successes through community service projects and community engagement."

"Giving back to our community remains a staple of the student-athlete experience here at Daemen. I've often said that our student-athletes are the future leaders of this and other communities, and our community service initiatives aide in their leadership development," said Bridget Niland, director of athletics. "I am incredibly proud of the efforts our student-athletes have made in this arena, and I want to thank them for that. I'd also like to thank our coaches for emphasizing the importance of community engagement, and administrator Mame Yaa Ankoma-Mensa for coordinating our community service projects."

As a whole, participating NCAA institutions logged 77,478 community service hours over the 85-day competition, calculated to be a $1.7 million impact collectively. Georgian Court University amassed more than 2,800 community service hours to top the Division II rankings. George Washington University tallied more than 3,000 service hours to win the competition amongst Division I schools.

For more information on the NCAA Team Works Helper Helper Community Service Competition, visit ncaa.com/teamworks.

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