Park (Mo.) soccer teams give back
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Park University men's and women's soccer teams took time off of the practice field Wednesday morning to give back to the community, spending the morning volunteering at Harvesters' in Kansas City.
Both teams' full rosters participated in the morning event, which is the first of many community service efforts scheduled for the 2012-13 academic year at Park University.
"We will be back," said men's coach Efrem Shimlis. "This was a great bonding experience for both of our teams, and we were able to help our community in the process. You can't put a price tag on that."
Harvesters' mission is to feed hungry people today and work to end hunger tomorrow.
As the area's only food bank, Harvesters is a clearinghouse for the collection and distribution of food and related household products. Harvesters has been helping people in need since 1979 by:
• Collecting food and household products from community and industry sources
• Distributing those products and providing nutrition services through a network of nonprofit agencies
• Offering leadership and education programs to increase community awareness of hunger and generate solutions to alleviate hunger
Harvesters' network includes more than 620 nonprofit agencies throughout its 26-county direct service area, including emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, children's homes, homes for the mentally disabled and shelters for battered persons. Harvesters' network provides food assistance to as many as 66,000 different people each week. Harvesters is a certified member of Feeding America, a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks, serving all 50 states.
Park University is in its first week of organized preseason training for the 2012 soccer season, which begins for the Park men on Aug. 25 at home against MidAmerica Nazarene University. The women kick off 2012 on Sept. 1, traveling to Benedictine College.
