Football Gives Back to Local Communities

UNION, N.J. (4/28/09) - The Kean University football team gave back to the local communities in separate volunteer efforts last week. Nearly half the team and several coaches volunteered between the two days at either the Community FoodBank of New Jersey or as part of the Clean Ocean Action's Beach Sweeps in Monmouth County.

On Friday, April 24, 16 members of the team and coaching staff spent several hours at the Community FoodBank distribution center sorting and packing boxes of food and household goods.

The next day, more than 20 different players and coaches removed debris from Baywalk at Beachway and Laurel Avenues in Keansburg, N.J. The Cougars, who made up nearly a quarter of all the volunteers at the beach, were at one of the more than 50 sites in seven different counties across the state.

Under third-year head coach Dan Garrett, the Cougars have volunteered their time and efforts at three separate community service activities in March and April, as team also participated in the National Education Association's Read Across America.

The FoodBank distributes over 23 million pounds of food and groceries a year, ultimately serving 1,656 non-profit programs including 436 programs served by its Partner Distribution Organizations (PDOs). Through their combined efforts, they assist three-quarters of a million low-income people in 18 of New Jersey's 21 counties.

Clean Ocean Action's Beach Sweeps are one of the longest running clean-ups in the world. The first clean-up first started in 1985 at Sandy Hook with 75 volunteers. Today, this bi-annual event includes beaches, rivers, lakes, streams and underwater clean-ups. Since 1985, over 70,000 volunteers have participated and removed over three million pieces of debris from beaches and waterways around the state of New Jersey.