Alverno Honored with Community Service Award at NCAA Convention

January 30, 2013

Alverno College was recognized for the Jostens/National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA) Community Service Awards at the 2013 NCAA Convention in Grapevine, Texas last week.

Brad Duckworth, Alverno's director of athletics, accepted the award for honorable mention in the continuous project category on behalf of the college's student-athletes. The award took into consideration the services performed during the 2011-12 academic year.

"I couldn't be more proud of the whole Alverno community," commented Duckworth. "The impact that we have been able to make on the entire Milwaukee community was tremendous."

"To be recognized by NADIIIAA shows the tremendous work that we have accomplished over the last couple of years. There are over 400 NCAA Division III member institutions and we were in the top three for community service. That is a true example of how we live our mission every day."

The Alverno Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) organized and led the charge in collecting 13,477 nonperishable items and donations for Cans Across the Conference, the annual Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) food drive, in fall of 2011.

Alverno collected the most items in the community service competition amongst the 13 institutions in the NAC, and set a new record in the annual service initiative for the second-straight year. All items and monetary donations collected by Alverno's SAAC were contributed to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin and Hunger Task Force in Milwaukee.

Cans, other nonperishable items and toiletries were counted, and monetary donations were also accepted, with one dollar equaling two items in the spirited competition. Alverno nearly doubled its total of 7,108 items from 2010's food drive.

Alverno collected over 25,000 items in the 2012 food drive, and will be eligible for another community service award at the 2014 convention based on efforts during the 2012-13 academic year.