Cans of corn and packages of ramen noodles piled up in large cardboard boxes behind the ticket table during the MSU volleyball games last weekend. A group of MSU student athletes yelled "Cans! Cans!" to encourage the patrons to turn in their ticket substitutes.
Instead of paying a ticket price, spectators had the option of bringing in at least three non-perishable goods as an admission to the game. The idea to combine a service event with this sporting event came from MSU volleyball's senior outside hitter Diana Steplyk. All collected items were then sent to the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry sponsored by Steplyk's church, St. John Student Parish.
"With it being my senior year, I have realized there have been a lot of opportunities taken away to be a normal kid, but volleyball has given me the opportunity to be a leader in the community," Steplyk said. "I thought a food drive would be a good idea. Food is a good item and a lot of people take food for granted, and it would be a good way to promote women's athletics and for a good cause."
The drive exceeded the expectations of Steplyk and those involved, as workers from the food pantry loaded two vans full of canned and packaged goods.
Steplyk is one of 300 athletes taking the time to make a difference in her community by reaching out in different service efforts. She participates in different events and programs, like the Pen Pal program, coordinated through the Putting Athletes and Community Together, or PACT. When she took the initiative to start creating events on her own, Angela Howard, associate director for NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills, was the first person Steplyk contacted.
"That's what I am looking for, for students to come up with stuff close to their heart," Howard said about Steplyk's idea.
From there, Howard worked on getting other student athletes to collect the food from the game. Jill Mason, the athletics department's promotions director, launched an advertising campaign to start publicizing the drive with flyers at other volleyball games and around campus.
On the first night of the drive, MSU women's golf freshman Jordyn Wells helped gather the cans.
"People are bringing more than three cans," Wells said about the success of the night. "It was a really good idea."
Even though Wells has been at MSU less than a semester, she has gotten involved in different service opportunities, such as the Boys and Girls Club and visiting the Origami Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center.
Wells was joined during the night of the drive by her teammate, senior Kelly Collier, who has been involved in several activities through PACT. She participates in the Pen Pal program, something she said she really enjoys.
"I've got heart for the program," she said. "It is just a great opportunity to get out, help the community and get a break from classes and practice."
Steplyk also participates in the Pen Pal program. Her initiative to get a service project going was something that seems natural to her. She said student athletes are lucky to have an organization such as PACT.
"We are the role models for the community," she said. "It is especially important for us and a lot of fun.
"I have already looked at other ways of starting programs like this. This is the starting point that I can really make a difference and my ideas have an impact."
Howard said she hopes athletes who have been involved in different events continue to show their support and create their own service opportunities. She said the public only sees a fraction of what the athletes actually do.
"We know that what you usually see in the media, other than the scores, are the one or two bad things that happen," she said. "That is what gets people's attention; that is the story. But for 99.9 percent of our student athletes, this is what they do.
"They give back."
Steplyk and other student athletes are taking that extra step to write a letter to local classrooms or go trick-or-treating and now work to create new activities to help the MSU and greater East Lansing community.
"It's amazing, they aren't doing it for recognition," Howard said. "Sometimes you need things like PACT to get attention. This is the way our student athletes are, now people get to see that."
