Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Player Bios for Division I-A Good Works Team®

Jason Cook, FB, Junior, Mississippi: Vital part of the “Reading with the Rebels” program at local city, county and private schools ... Participates in the Oxford Pantry Food Drive ... Helped collect toys for “Toys for Tots,” which was sponsored by the Marine ROTC at Mississippi ... Coordinates the Fellowship of Christian Athletes program for Ole Miss student-athletes ... Visits local senior citizens at extended care centers in Oxford and visits patients at North Mississippi Regional Center.

Alex Derenthal, C, Junior, Temple: Helped execute a Partnership School Field Day that involved 400 kids in games, activities and health awareness programs ... Active member of Owl Outreach, which is a community service program at Temple to raise awareness in young people throughout Philadelphia on aspects of leadership, positive character development and high ethical standards ... Volunteered at Philadelphia Triathlon, which benefited the Children’s Cancer Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Casey Flair, WR, Junior, UNLV: Founded, promotes and oversees his own week-long, non-profit football camp for kids age 6-14 in his hometown of Anchorage ... Volunteers each year for Santa Clothes, which sees underprivileged youth invited to UNLV for a day of sports and mentoring before they go on a donated shopping spree for much-needed clothing ... Part-time employee at Cambridge Recreation Center, acting as a tutor and sports coach for at-risk youth ... Spoken at nearly two dozen schools in Alaska and Nevada.

Nic Harris, DB, Junior, Oklahoma: Served as president and is an active member of BridgeBuilders, an African-American Student-Athlete network group at Oklahoma ... Led BridgeBuilders as it continues relationships with Madison Elementary School and Brookhaven Nursing Center ... BridgeBuilders joined forces with Norman’s Food for Friends Community Action Agency by serving lunch to less fortunate in the community ... Raised money to provide Thanksgiving dinners to 10 families in Norman area.

George Hypolite, DT, Junior, Colorado: Volunteered at the Boulder homeless shelter and participated in a food drive and an Angel Tree project to provide gifts to children and senior citizens in need during the holiday season ... In his hometown of Los Angeles, participates in Project Angel Food in which he helped prepare food for homebound AIDS and cancer patients ... Volunteers in Read with the Buffs, a program in which he reads designated books to elementary students and coordinates a Q&A session with the students afterward.

Kelin Johnson, SS, Senior, Georgia: Volunteered for field day event sponsored by HERO for Children, which is a non-profit dedicated to improving the quality of life of children infected with HIV/AIDS ... Assisted with Camp Well Springs, a camp for children with disabilities ... Assisted with a home building project in Athens with Habitat for Humanity ... Active member in the Boys and Girls Club mentor program ... Speaks an numerous elementary, junior and high schools around Athens area about the importance of education.

Adam Kadela, LB, Senior, Northwestern: Regular volunteer for the American Cancer Society Generation Fit Program, discussing benefits of a healthy lifestyle with elementary school children ... Organized a football relay team for the NU Relay for Life ... Annually visits Children’s Memorial Hospital and Lutheran General Hospital ... Participates in an annual fundraising event for Misericordia, a residential home for developmentally and physically disabled individuals ... Participates in events at many local elementary schools.

Red Keith, LB, Senior, Central Michigan:
Annual participant in local canned food drive that has served as the second-largest yearly contribution to the Isabella County chapter of the American Red Cross ... Volunteered to help conduct events and hand out awards at the State of Michigan Special Olympics Summer Games ... Visits patients at nursing homes near his hometown of Franklin, Ga. ... Member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and helps coordinate community service activities for CMU student-athletes.

Tom Schneider, PK, Senior, California: Ran in a Relay for Life marathon to raise money for cancer awareness, prevention and research ... Participated in a city works project helping clean up parts of Berkeley ... Involved in Read Across America project at Buena Vista Elementary school for four years ... Volunteers time for Surf Riders Foundation, helping raise money to help clean up California’s public beaches ... Volunteered at Berkeley Free Clinic, helping with fundraising and awareness ... Visits children at John Muir Hospital.

Paul Smith, QB, Senior, Tulsa: Volunteered for the past three years at FCA Tulsa Inner-City camp ... Makes visits to local hospital’s children’s ward and many local elementary schools ... Leads Praise and Worship at every FCA meeting at Tulsa for the past four years ... Has spoke at Tulsa Union H.S. football banquet, Owasso First Assembly of God Church, Southern Hills Baptist Church, Tulsa Memorial H.S. Fifth Quarter meeting, Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, Woodland Acres Baptist Church, and many others.

Tom Zbikowski, S, Senior, Notre Dame: Organized a charity boxing event in South Bend in March of 2007 and donated $50,000 to various charities, including Hannah & Friends, a non-profit foundation dedicated to providing a better quality life for children and adults with special needs, Hospice of Health First of Melbourne, Fla., Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Indiana, Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, South Bend Center for the Homeless, and PanCAN, a pancreatic cancer research foundation.

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