BATON ROUGE — The LSU baseball team will participate in three community service projects Saturday in the Baton Rouge area, as the Tigers continue to perform active roles in philanthropic events.
LSU players will take part in the Buddy Walk at 9 a.m. at Wanetiri Lakes on Greenwell Springs Road. The Buddy Walk is designed to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down Syndrome.
Another group of Tigers will appear at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk at 9 a.m. at the corner of Nicholson Drive and Nicholson Extension on the LSU campus.
Other members of the squad will participate in the ALS Walk at 10 a.m. at the LSU Veterinary School on Skip Bertman Drive. The ALS Walk promotes awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
“We believe that community service is part of the responsibility of being an LSU baseball player,” coach Paul Mainieri said. “It’s important that our players interact with the public and attempt to make a positive impact upon their lives.
“The players participate with the intent of helping others, and they find the experience to be extremely rewarding. It gives them a greater appreciation of how fortunate they are to be college student-athletes.”
Mainieri is scheduled to speak to the ALS Walk participants at 9:50 a.m. Saturday at the LSU Vet School.
The Tigers logged 345 hours of community service work during the 2007-08 academic year, the most by any of the LSU men’s sports programs.
At the end of this month, the baseball team will take part in the Halloween “Boozar” at LSU, as the players dress in Halloween costumes and distribute candy to children in the Baton Rouge community.
The Tigers also regularly participate in children’s hospital visits in the Baton Rouge area, meeting with patients and their families while signing autographs, posing for pictures and lifting their spirits.
LSU Baseball Community Service Projects on Saturday, Oct. 4
9 a.m. ? Buddy Walk (Wanetiri Lakes on Greenwell Springs Road)
9 a.m. ? Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk (corner of Nicholson Dr. and Nicholson Ext.)
10 a.m. ? ALS Walk (LSU Veterinary School on Skip Bertman Drive)