San Francisco, CA – The Academy of Art University's softball team has been very busy this off-season, not just with practice, but with helping out the community. Throughout the month of October, the team participated in a total of three community service projects including helping with Fleet Week, Habitat for Humanity, and setting up a kickball tournament called Kicking Cancer. The team has been working hard both on and off the field in order to do what they can for the surrounding San Francisco area.
 
The Knights began their month of community service by helping at San Francisco's Fleet Week in early October. Fleet Week is the annual opportunity to thank the men and women of the National Services for their hard work and dedication (www.fleetweek.us). Members of the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and the San Francisco Police and Fire Departments all came out join in a friendly slow-pitch softball tournament. The Urban Knights helped out with this Fleet Week activity by having a short practice in which they showcased their talents, followed by a competition between the ART U pitchers and the Fleet Week participant batters. Two members each from the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Fire Department faced the Knights' pitchers to see if they could get a hit, or if they would succumb to a strikeout.
 
“It was a lot of fun to be out there with them,” said junior Andrea Hanchey. “We were able to see what they were like outside of their day-to-day military routine. It definitely gave me more respect for what they do, and it was really nice getting to talk to those who help our country and getting to learn more about what they do.”
 
After the battle between the pitchers and the hitters, the Knights took a seat on the sideline to help cheer on their new found friends in their tournament, giving them some much needed advice and encouragement. This was the second year that Academy of Art softball has helped out with Fleet Week, making it tradition to show their thanks and appreciation in such a way.
 
“I think the men and women of the armed forces do a great job in protecting our country,” said Head Coach Rachel Sherman. “The least that we can do is show our appreciation and support by being there and cheering them on like this.”
 
A few weeks later, the ART U softball team was back at it, this time helping on a completely different level. The team volunteered for Habitat for Humanity where they helped build a condominium complex in Daly City. The work was very physical and the team worked from morning until evening doing manual labor.
 
Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization founded on the conviction that every man, woman, and child should have a decent, safe, and affordable place to live. The houses are available to low-income families around the world that would otherwise not be able to afford to buy a house (http://www.habitat.org). The families are selected through several interview processes, and must help out in the building of the house as well. Once their house is built, the family takes over the mortgage, and then has a comfortable non-crowded place to live.
 
“Helping out this way made me happy about what we were doing and the families we were helping,” said freshman Kristin Valdivia. “I know how it is living in small crowded conditions, and I am thankful to be able to help other families with this need that are going through the same thing.”
 
The Knights were assigned to four different groups to provide assistance during the day. One group was on the roof tearing up old pieces and replacing them with new tar and shingles, the second group was on scaffolds helping caulk the outside to weather proof it and paint the exterior. A third group was in charge of framing the layouts of the condos, along with fireproofing the frames, and the fourth group installed sheet rock for the ceiling.
 
“The work was very physical,” said sophomore Elyse Cordova. “Your whole body was engaged while working and at the end of the day you could really feel how much work you actually did. When I get to see the finished product, I will think about all the hard work we did and how other volunteers came out to also work hard, and how in the end it all came together.”
 
ART U was teamed up with Habitat professionals who oversaw the entire day's work. Together as a team, combined with a few other volunteers, the Knights were able to give back to those less fortunate than themselves and help those who really need it, especially in these tough economic times.
 
“The reason I chose for our team to participate is because I wanted the team to help those that are less fortunate,” added Coach Rachel Sherman. “I also wanted them to work as a team to help a greater cause and to give back to the community that we represent.”
 
In their last community service project of the month, the ART U softball team set up a kickball tournament for all the sports at the University to help raise money to find a cure for childhood cancer. The event is partnered with CureSearch, an organization that helps groups organize kickball tournaments for this cause (www.kick-it.org/events/kicking-cancer). The softball team got five other sports at the Academy of Art University to participate, along with outside groups formed by friends and family. Each team was responsible for raising money for cancer research in order to participate in the all day tournament.
 
After Head Coach Rachel Sherman's nephew, Sy, was diagnosed with liver cancer in February at the age of eight, the softball team felt a special connection with this community service cause.
 
“This cause hits home for me, and I wanted to help raise awareness not only for my nephew, but for the other kids suffering with cancer,” Coach Sherman said. “When we came across the opportunity to create a kickball tournament for cancer research, I thought what better way to get athletes involved to raise money and awareness for such a great cause?”
 
The tournament was a round robin, in which all teams that participated were guaranteed four games each. The day was beautiful and everyone was out there having fun and giving back to a great cause.
 
“Kickball was fun and I liked seeing Sy (Coach Sherman's nephew) catch a ball that was bigger than he was,” exclaimed senior Melissa Coe. “It was cool that most of the school's athletes came out. It didn't feel like community service; everyone was having fun playing kickball against each other. I think everyone had a good time, and I hope we raised a lot of money.”
 
Softball led the way for the money raised for CureSearch collecting almost $1,500 dollars.
 
After a busy month full of practice and school, the Urban Knights softball team still found a way to give back to the community. They showed selflessness and dedicated a lot of time and hard work into three community service projects throughout one month. It just goes to show that there is never a better time than the present to reach out and help those in need.