Jan. 25, 2012

Photo Gallery

Back to school! These Minnesota Gophers are already hard at work. A large group of thirty-one student-athletes spent their time on Friday evening, January 20th, 2012, volunteering for an on campus event located at the Gibson Nagurski Football Complex.

The Institute of Child Development sponsors the Shirley G. Moore Laboratory School at the University of Minnesota. Annually, the Student-Athlete Affairs program hosts an annual fundraising event to raise money for the University sponsored school. The event is called Gym Jam. This year, all proceeds will be given to the school in order to fund new modern climbing equipment for the toddler playground.

Mia Tabberson, a member of the women's volleyball and one of the attendees of the fundraising event stated, "It is really important to give back to the Minneapolis community to thank them for the support that they give us. It is also a very fun experience to be around all of the children and their families".

"Gym Jam is a way to give back to the community and brighten a child's day." Soccer player Olivia Bagnall exclaimed, "It is exciting to see these children grow by having Gopher athletes teach and play with the children".

Among these thirty-one student-athlete volunteers, seven Gopher athletic teams were represented on Friday night's Gym Jam fundraiser. The team that had the most student-athlete volunteers was the Gopher Football team with a total of eleven attending members. Other teams represented at the Gym Jam event were men's and women's swimming and diving, volleyball, soccer, women's basketball, and baseball. During the event that is open to the friends and family of the Shirley G. Moore Laboratory School's students, our student-athletes volunteered in a variety of different ways. Some worked at the front desk of the event, while most ran around and played with the young children, participating in many games and activities. The event raised a total of $3,-00 for new playground equipment.

Gopher Football player Chris Hawthorne, an attendee of the Gym Jam event, says about the event, "It was an amazing experience to see the joy on the faces of these kids, whether they were really young or some of the older ones, it was just really cool to be able to play football, or kick ball, or just run around with them until they were too tired to run anymore. I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to volunteer here at a school that I love and be with kids and try to help inspire them to stay active, healthy, and to take school seriously."

The next volunteering event that will be covered will be Wednesday January 25th, 2012, the Trent Tucker Scholars program.