BATON ROUGE – The LSU track and field team has proven to be one of the leading athletic programs on campus with its community service efforts each season, and senior Lauren Saucier and junior Brandon Gordon have each been recognized with a selection to the SEC Community Service Team on Tuesday.
Saucier has been selected a member of the SEC Community Service Team for the second-straight year, as she was also included for her efforts during her junior season in 2010.
With 72.5 hours of community service to his credit, Gordon collected more hours than any student-athlete on LSU’s campus for the 2010-11 academic year while being named a member of the SEC Community Service Team for the first time in his three-year collegiate career with the program.
Saucier is a proven leader in the community while serving as president with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in each of the last two years. In fact, Saucier has actually been a member of SAAC for the past three years after joining the committee during her sophomore season in 2008-09.
A native of nearby Gonzales, La., Saucier has mentored local school children throughout her career in the program, which includes speaking to the students at St. Isidore Elementary School about the importance of healthy living with nutrition and exercise. She also helped provide dental education to some elementary students in Baton Rouge as part of Give Kids a Smile Day, including free dental work and teeth cleanings.
Among the organizations with which Saucier has volunteered this year is Foundation 56 established by an LSU football great in former All-American linebacker Bradie James. With the organization, she helped to raise money for breast cancer research during an LSU gymnastics meet against NC State on March 2.
In addition, Saucier participated in this year’s Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk, and has even served lunches to the homeless of Baton Rouge while volunteering her time at St. Vincent de Paul.
Among the campaigns in which Gordon participated this year include the Real Men Read campaign, as he helped to promote literacy directed toward young males in local school in the Baton Rouge area.
Like Saucier, Gordon also served as a mentor to local school children throughout the year, reading to kids at Delmont and LaSalle elementary schools. He also helped renovate the playground at Lanier Elementary School as part of its School Pride event earlier this academic season.
Both Gordon and Saucier teamed with one another in a number of community service projects throughout the past year while working in the Baton Rouge community.
They have helped organize the efforts of the LSU track and field team in working with the Baton Rouge chapter of Habitat for Humanity while participating in three different construction projects in North Baton Rouge and St. Gabriel since October. Each has also made frequent visits to local hospitals and elementary schools to mentor and encourage children, including Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital and Baton Rouge General Hospital and Delmont Elementary School.
Gordon and Saucier have also helped organize such annual events at LSU as the Halloween BOOzar with local children to trick-or-treat with LSU’s student-athletes, Thanksgiving with the Tigers to provide meals to underprivileged families in Baton Rouge and the Christmas Toy Drive to help raise money and provide presents to an underprivileged child adopted by the team during the Christmas season.
In addition, each helped coordinate LSU’s participation in the SEC Together We CAN Food Drive to help collect canned goods at soccer and volleyball matches for the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.
Not only that, but both Gordon and Saucier were active participants in the fight against cancer with taking part in this year’s Relay for Life to help raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society.