One athlete spent the afternoon walking dogs at a rescue shelter, while a few days later members of the baseball team visited a children’s hospital to play games with patients.

Purdue University student-athletes regularly volunteer their free time making an impact away from their respective sports through a myriad of community events. The goal for these student-athletes is to not only achieve athletic success, but to also become a holistic individual defined by more than wins and losses.

“That’s the first and foremost thing: We want to make sure that they are good people and doing community service definitely helps with that aspect,” said Peyton Stovall, assistant athletics director for student-athlete development. “We want them to get the experience of giving and providing for someone else.

“Once that is part of the foundation of who they are we feel like we are starting to get the ball rolling on having a holistic individual that can be highly successful at the next level, whether that would be in sports or life after sports.”

All athletic teams have their own goal for the number of community service hours to be completed each year and the entire athletics department has a goal of 3,000 hours as a collective group. One goal moving forward is to create more collaborations among different teams. 

“We want to be more collaborative and adopt the One Purdue theme that is used throughout campus - academically and athletically,” Stovall said. “We want to encourage each of our teams to continue some of the great service projects they are already doing on their own while finding ways to collaborate with other teams and staff for other opportunities to show unity as they make an impact on our community.”

The community involvement of Purdue student athletes runs the gamut of activities. Several teams have participated in the The Challenge 5K benefitting the Center for Cancer Research at Purdue; while student-athletes have made numerous visits to local elementary schools to read stories or discuss sportsmanship and professionalism.

A group of athletes from multiple sports have participated for the past two years in the weekly program “Mentor Monday” at the Northend Community Center. The athlete-driven program provides mentoring to youth in the Lafayette area, with many regular participants.

Purdue women’s basketball player Léony Boudreau helped organize the Wheel Rise event last September, created to raise awareness for paralympic sports and empower others to reach their full potential.

“Some of the biggest impact we want to have moving forward is on the youth,” Stovall said. “The Mentor Monday has been something the student-athletes love and something we will continue to do. Helping build the youth in the Greater Lafayette Area is one of the biggest impacts we can make in this community.”

The list of ways Purdue student-athletes are making an impact in the community goes further and will continue to diversify and expand, and the athletics department hopes to create more collaborations among teams as those opportunities arise.

But one trend will continue - focusing on helping young people. A few moments of simply talking to a child and offering some positive encouragement can go a long way. Stovall grew up in Lafayette before going on to have a successful NCAA Division I basketball career. As a child he participated in community events that were attended by Purdue student-athletes. So, he remembers what type of impact these events can have on children.

“It was so important as a kid, I idolized these student-athletes,” Stovall said. “Now as a parent, I know my children are idolizing these student-athletes. I do want those kids to look up to these student-athletes and do so because they are portraying greatness on and off their respective field of athletics.”

Participating in these events not only benefits those in the community, but also the student athletes. A willingness to participate in these events displays the type of attitude future employers will embrace and these volunteer efforts will help create a community service portfolio for each student-athlete’s resume.

“Corporate partners and potential employers are interested in how many community service hours someone has collected over the time frame of their college career,” Stovall said. “Because if you are willing to be unselfish and sacrifice time for someone else, it paints a picture of how you will be as an employee and how you will treat their organization.”

Organizations interested in partnering with Purdue Athletics for a community service event can contact Stovall at pcstovall@purdue.edu.

Brian Peloza