Troy, Michigan (4/23/2023 ) The American Collegiate Hockey Association is proud to recognize Villanova University as the 2022/2023 Women's Division 2 Community Service Award Recipient.
Villanova University women’s hockey has made a point to continue developing and promoting their philanthropic undertakings. In the 2022-23 season, the team participated in the following community service initiatives:
- Partnered with the Philadelphia Blind Hockey organization. Throughout the year, the team participated in different events with PBH, including sending team members to practices and events to work with the visually impaired and blind skaters. They also fundraised for this organization by purchasing and selling t-shirts to raise money.
- Continued participation in the Villanova Special Olympics Fall Festival. Both the team and individual team members participate at various levels. Every year, the entire team participates in the Roller Skating event as cheerleaders and guides for the SpO Athletes who participate. Several team members held leadership positions in the event, specifically Grace Curran, who was the head of the Roller Skating event and coordinated it for the entire team.
- Continued participation in NOVAdance, contributing much of their yearly fundraising to this event. The team hosts a charity game, and this year, they beat their previous fundraising efforts and had an incredible turnout for the event. On the day of NOVAdance, several team members participated in the day-long dance event and raised money for the philanthropy.
- Hosted three dine-out days this year, raising money for on-campus organizations and philanthropic initiatives. Overall, Villanova women’s hockey donated roughly $1,500 to organizations on campus through these events.
For the 2022-23 season, Villanova women’s hockey started a new team initiative of keeping track of the hours of community service hours that the team has compiled. This year, members of the team accumulated 427 recorded service hours through individual participation in the following organizations: The Bandana Project, Best Buddies, LEVEL, Habitat for Humanity, Ruibal, various sorority philanthropies, multiple Villanova Nursing School initiatives, and many others.
In addition to Villanova University, there are many other teams doing commendable volunteer work in their communities. Women's D2 would like to highlight two programs that also displayed tremendous community service efforts in the 2022-23 season: Sault College and Virginia Tech.
Honorable Mention
Sault College (W2)
The Salt College women's hockey team demonstrated exceptional commitment to community service by volunteering numerous hours with local organizations. Their efforts included supporting skating programs and mentoring young female hockey players.
This year, the players partnered with organizations such as the Indian Friendship Centre, Your Neighbourhood Credit Union, and Sault College's International Department to encourage youth and students to participate in skating. In addition, they raised funds for Breast Cancer research through a Breast Cancer Awareness game and participated in the Bon Soo Polar Plunge for the Algoma University Hunger Freeze campaign. They also established a mentorship program with the Sault Female Hockey Association, where they met with young players before games, and even joined them on the ice for the National Anthems.
Head Coach Brianne Shunock shares, "The team's genuine connections with each other were strengthened through these experiences, and they were frequently seen at the rink outside of their scheduled practices and games, supporting young players in action. These are qualities that are challenging to instill in players, but our team is highly motivated to not only achieve success on the ice, but to also build a strong connection with the community."
Virginia Tech (W2)
The Women's Ice Hockey Team at Virginia Tech participates in a mentoring program with the local Lady Dawgs girl's travel team to grow the sport and spread awareness of women's hockey. They attended Railyard Dawgs games, assisted in their practices, and hosted scrimmages to get to know and inspire the girls. After all, as team president Lily Espino points out, if they see it, they can be it!
The team also hosted a "Makayla Night" to raise awareness and funds for one of the Lady Dawgs battling cancer during one of the VT games. In their local community they participate in the Big Event, a community clean-up to give back to the town of Blacksburg; and Relay for Life, a fundraising event to find a cure for and support those fighting cancer.
