BATON ROUGE – The LSU CHAMPS/Life Skills Program completed an impressive 2,648.5 hours of community service during the 2009-10 academic year. The program increased its total service hours by more than 250 from last year.
Football’s Orlando Gunn and soccer’s Natalie leyoub were selected as the Male and Female Volunteer of the Year, while LSU soccer took home the traveling team trophy for the third consecutive season after racking up 735.5 community service hours.
“I’m excited that the soccer team won the community service award again,” leyoub said. “We did a lot of work within the community, and I just did my part to help us win and give back. It is great that CHAMPS has an award to promote teams to serve, because it’s very important for us to reach out.”
“This award symbolizes commitment to community. As student-athletes, we are put on a platform that comes with great responsibility,” Gunn said. “Volunteering my time over these four years is simply my way of giving back because someone gave back to me. Since my time here at LSU I recognized the significance athletics plays in the lives of others. It’s the bright-eyed children’s smiles, the hugs from grateful adults, and the heart prints that community events leave on me that keeps me going. I want to thank everyone for making my time here an everlasting success.”
LSU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) also announced its officers for the 2010-11 year. Track and Field’s Lauren Saucier was elected President for the second consecutive year. Swimming and Diving’s Shanna Spears along with Clint Hallum will serve as Vice President and Secretary, respectively. David Robert of men’s tennis and Kyle Rose of track and field will handle the community outreach chairs position.