The Gustavus Adolphus Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC), which is made up of two representatives from each athletic team on campus, constantly works to improve the complete experience of being a student-athlete while striving to produce a positive image of student-athletes at Gustavus. SAAC participates in a variety of events and activities, which concentrate on three different areas: team building, community service, and student-athlete welfare.

This year SAAC is striving to make a bigger mark on the community. SAAC has completed volunteer work in the past by helping out with Special Olympics on campus, working with elementary school kids at Saint Peter public schools, Study Buddies, Gustie Buddies, Big Partner Little Partner, and Feed My Starving Children. SAAC has set a goal to complete 3,200 hours of volunteer work this year. It is not a competition between sports teams, but rather a goal for the entire athletic department. Kari Eckheart, Assistant Athletics Director for Student Athlete Services has been working with the five student athletes of SAAC’s executive board to set goals for the academic year.

“It’s a challenge for the athletic department. As an athletic department, we’re trying to reach a total of 3,200 hours in volunteer work,” Eckheart said.

In order to keep track of the volunteer hours, SAAC has created a poster to display on SAAC’s bulletin board in Lund Center. The poster is marked with “Challenge Hour Increments,” and as the hours are achieved, they will be filled with pictures of athletes participating in community service. This way, athletes who are not members of SAAC can be involved in the volunteer hour challenge. SAAC is working to get more athletes involved in community service, not just the athletes that are members of SAAC.

“Each player is expected to get at least five volunteer hours throughout the year, that’s where we came up with our 3,200-hour goal. We will keep track of the hours in increments of 800,” Junior SAAC Executive Board member Carly Klass said.

Gustavus Athletics has already participated in a variety of community service activities this academic year. The Special Olympics of Minnesota’s Unified Flag Football Area Tournament was held at Hollingsworth Field at Gustavus. Over 80 student-athletes from a variety of athletic teams volunteered to run the event. Gustavus volleyball was also involved in a service project on a retreat during their training camp this fall.

Recently, the Gustavus men and women’s cross country teams volunteered at Seven Mile Creek Park to improve the park’s conditions. Junior SAAC member Kayte Cole participated in the volunteer work with her teammates.

“We were supposed to clear the path, but it was raining, so we weren’t able to do that. Instead we ended up stacking a huge pile of logs into a shed. We also filled sand bags so the paths don’t erode. I think they really appreciated our help,” Cole said.

Cross Country has plans to participate in “The Walk to School” on three Wednesday mornings to raise awareness about safe routes for walking and biking. The team strives to create a stronger connection between the Saint Peter community and the Gustavus community. Cross Country will also volunteer for Study Buddies and Big Partner Little Partner. Cole is excited to see Gustavus Athletic teams participate in more community service as the academic year progresses.

“I think that getting out into the community will show the athletes how important community service is. It’s always a good thing to help out and show the community how awesome Gustavus Athletics are,” Cole said.

SAAC hopes to not only get the athletes more involved, but also to volunteer their own time to help other people. Since many Gusties are already involved in some kind of community service on their own, SAAC has made a rule that the volunteer hours required for any other program or organization will not count towards the SAAC volunteer hour challenge.

“We decided that if you are getting credit for the volunteer work outside of the SAAC challenge, then it doesn’t count. [For SAAC] we want it to be strictly you going out of your way, taking your personal time when you don’t have to, to volunteer,” Klass said.

By making the volunteer hour challenge a common goal, Gustavus athletic teams are not recognized individually, but as a whole. All teams are required to contribute towards the goal, in order to connect the Gustavus community with communities outside Gustavus.

“Community service is a major aspect of SAAC, and most importantly, it helps connect Gustavus athletes and the outside community. Gustavus is such a tight knit community, and by SAAC branching out and expanding, it is bringing the rest of the community together as one,” Klass said.