The student-athletes selected the San Francisco State Gators as the winners of the 2023-24 CCAA Cares Community Service Award at the recent conference meeting of SAAC leadership and advisors.
 
The Gators were crowned the winners for the second consecutive year as they expanded outreach to locals in need through their Building Connections Through Locals Communities program. These opportunities strengthened bonds across the teams and the department and allowed everyone to engage a little more in their community. 
 
“After our first CCAA Cares award, we wanted to focus on how all of the teams were bettering the local community through their service and that overall, we want to be known as a department that steps in and supports the local community as much as we can,” said SF State’s Academics Coordinator Paula Hsieh.
 
Over the 2023-24 academic year, members of the athletic teams and SAAC volunteered at various local events, charities, and community service activities. The baseball and softball teams worked with the Junior Giants organization to help instruct young children on sports and other life skills. They also worked with an on-campus group to create baby clothes for single-parent households and host a Toys for Tots Xmas drive to help with Little League camps in the Bay Area.
 
The women’s soccer and volleyball teams volunteered at the Best Buddies Walk in Golden Gate Park, the country's leading walk supporting inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The wrestling team cleaned their neighborhood with Refuse Refuse SF and volunteered to pick up trash on the beach.
 
The men’s and women’s basketball teams got in on the action, and each dedicated their time to City Eats in San Francisco, where they helped with meal prep and food distribution to the homeless throughout the city.
 
“This collective goal of understanding and coordinating activities that give back to the local communities becomes a goal for the student-athletes and the departments to work towards,” continued Hsieh. “Not only does it provide a sense of friendly competition for the student-athletes and coaches, but it also shows the student-athletes that they do not exist in a bubble and that it is inherently important to connect and support the local community because we are part of that community.”
 
As part of the CCAA Cares initiative, the conference office presented the Gators with a commemorative plaque and a $500 prize award. The award is presented to the campus SAAC with the most innovative project, either consistent service and contributions or a singular outstanding event, during the 2023-24 academic year.