Seasons are won and lost, but for the Pioneers, its causes won’t be. Off the field and outside of the gym, DU’s 17 Division I teams participate in service projects that benefit the Denver community.

This year, the Student Athlete Advisory Council is sponsoring a community service event each quarter in which all athletes will participate. The first of these is the 9News “9 Cares Colorado Shares Food Drive,” on Nov. 13.

For this event, the majority of the student-athletes be making the trip to 9News’ studios to help unload and organize donations, and the few teams that will be out of town competing that weekend will contribute by collecting food and clothing.

Senior SAAC executive, and member of the men’s swimming and diving team, Ian Francis, said, “Right now our focus is on the 9News food drive. It is rapidly approaching and is always a fun event. This year we have 100 percent commitment from all 17 varsity teams, which is incredible.”

During the winter quarter, SAAC is introducing a new event to support the Souls for Soles Foundation, which is an organization that collects “gently used” shoes and donates them to those in need.

Senior swimmer and SAAC president, Grace Kittle, said, “Its our biggest project because we are the organization heading it up for the whole school. We plan to collect as many shoes as possible through collecting and hockey, basketball, gymnastic meets, and other games, and our hope is that the entire student body, and Denver community will get involved and help us make a difference.”

And beyond these initiatives, individual teams have given their time through events like Race for the Cure. The men’s lacrosse team has partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of America and helped them clean out and renovate their building here in Denver, according to assistant coach, Trevor Tierney.

Also, the women’s soccer team has ran soccer clinics for local club teams, volunteered for the national sports center for the disabled in a clinic they hosted, visited children’s hospital, and ran practice for the African Community Center of Denver, according to assistant coach Katie Hooker.

Francis said, “Involvement in Community service is very important to DU athletics. It gives us an opportunity to give back to those who support us. There is no doubt that we all love to see full stands when we compete, however it is hard to show our appreciation during a competition.

“Going out and participating in community service is our way of saying thank you to both our campus community and the Denver community.”