Athletes Serve Community during Spring 1000plus

April 11 - (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – Members of the football, women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, and women’s swimming and diving teams participated in Carnegie Mellon University’s 1000plus Day of Service on Saturday, April 7, helping to beautify the Pittsburgh community as the spring season rolls in.

The football team spent the day at the Hosanna House in Wilkinsburg, a community center that helps at risk youth. While there, the team mulched around the building, cleared a path in the woods that leads to an outdoor classroom, and put forth other efforts to clean up the surrounding area.

The volleyball team set their sights on Camp Guyasuta in the Laurel Highlands. Camp Guyasuta has primarily been a home to the boy scouts but now includes girl scouts and have recently hosted events for disabled children and veterans with PTSD.

“We decided to participate in 1000plus because we wanted to have an opportunity to help the greater Pittsburgh community,” said junior Lauren Mueller. “We usually participate in service events such as walks for awareness for different illnesses, but this year we wanted to do something different.”

At Camp Guyasuta, the Tartans were in charge of handling the pool area to get it ready for the summer campers. The group removed the pool cover, added chemicals, set up the deck space with chairs, and raked away leaves.

“Removing the pool cover was surprisingly difficult and took about 20 of us to do,” said Mueller. “We put in a lot of heavy lifting and got in a good workout while also helping the camp. It was a fun experience and one we’re planning to do again in the future.”

Players from the women’s basketball team did much of the same work at Arsenal Family and Children Center down the street from campus, while members of the women’s swimming and diving team helped sort clothes at First Trinity Church on Saturday. In the fall, the majority of the swimming and diving teams spent time at Hollow Oak Land Trust, a nature reserve where they too cleaned up the area of overgrown brush.