For the fifth straight year, all returning NCU student-athletes came together on Sunday night for the annual Beacon Athletics Fall Service Day.
Over 60 returning student athletes participated in the "reverse shopping" canned food drive. Serving FOOD for Lane County, the Beacons canvassed multiple neighborhoods in Eugene with shopping carts in hand going door-to-door to collect canned food, dry goods, toilet paper, and paper towels. NCU athletes blew away their previous record with nearly 1630 pounds of food collected. The event averaged 1150 pounds over the past three seasons.
Assistant Athletic Director Sarah Freeman said, "I'm very proud of our student-athletes and the work they did this year. As a Christ-centered athletic department, service is central to our mission and a great way to kick off the year. Doing the canned food drive allows our student-athletes to respond to a need and actively get involved with our community in an impactful way."
All teams were given the chance to get a head-start on Sunday's event, which becomes a friendly competition between the athletic teams each year. After collecting a few hundred pounds of food during the week leading up to the event, the women's soccer team ended up with the biggest haul of the year.
The Fall service day for returning athletes coincides each year with NCU's orientation weekend and falls on the same night in which all new student athletes (freshmen and transfers) participate in a service project along side the entire incoming class at NCU. This year, new students painted, pulled weeds, lanscaped, cleaned up trash and other activities at locations throughout Eugene including Clearwater Park, the Eugene Family YMCA, and the Greenhill Humane Society.