The Lebanon Valley College football team continued its tradition of serving the Lebanon community on its mandatory day off from football camp on Sunday, Aug. 18, by completing two community service projects.
Joe Buehler, the Lebanon Valley College head football coach when the tradition started almost a decade ago, had fostered the spirit of volunteerism within the team through this initiative until his retirement in 2023.
Read More: People ahead of wins: Joe Buehler retires as Lebanon Valley College football coach
Greg Drake, Lebanon Valley College’s head football coach since 2023, wrote LebTown: “We use the mandatory off day by the NCAA to do the community service project, so they are not taking away from practice but are using an off or rest day to serve their community rather than just resting.
“We preach to be an elite football team, as in life, we must make sacrifices as an adult and an athlete. So, we make those sacrifices despite ourselves to serve our family or community.”
This year, the football team’s offensive players worked to clear debris from the canal on Freeman Street near the new Northwest Elementary School. This work was completed after water was suctioned out of the canal into a tanker.
Meanwhile, the football team’s defensive players worked to cut and clear trees and dense vegetation from the bank of Stoever’s Dam. They then loaded the plants onto a truck to be removed from the scene.
Drake added, “We feel it emulates the college mission and that what we preach, ‘Be like Ben [Siegfried],’ our team’s motto, and ‘Be the man you truly want to be,’ we are practicing what we preach and teaching young men how to be servant leaders in their community.”
According to Lebanon Valley College’s website, its mission is to “[educate] students for lifelong success through exceptional undergraduate liberal arts programs and professional graduate programs delivered in an engaging and supportive academic and co-curricular environment.”
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