State Senator Josh Becker recognized the football team for its summer service with Ecumenical Hunger Program (EHP) in a ceremony on Tuesday afternoon.
The recognition followed a summer of volunteering at EHP, in which players helped sort and package fresh food, clothing, and household items for community members in need.
“Each player was required to go [to EHP] on one Wednesday,” senior captain George Scott said. “We sorted food that was brought from all around, we sorted into bags to pass out to the community. We also sorted clothes for people in need. [We also] sorted microwaves and dishwashers and also furniture, that kind of thing, making it a true shopping experience for the community to come through.”
While the team volunteered together, players often took on different roles, depending on what needed to be done that day.
“I was loading up the carts, so I was putting the cheese, milk, all that dairy, protein,” sophomore Nase Leafa said.
The experience also gave players an opportunity to interact with their teammates outside of the normal routine of games, practices, or competition.
“I feel like the people I worked with, I actually got to know better,” Leafa said.
“The point is not just the service, but also [to] build trust, build empathy, have a different kind of connection with people, a different kind of connection with the community. So that’s something that I’m told this team really did,” Becker said when discussing the award.
“I think that [the service] definitely built our community and brought not only our team closer but recognized us, not only [as] a strong football program but strong individuals,” Scott said.
With this type of award, Becker hopes to raise awareness for high school service programs to inspire other students to get involved.
“Of course, we want to recognize work that’s been done, but hopefully, every time we recognize [service work], we’re also inspiring others,” Becker said.
Service at M-A goes far beyond just the football team and their summer accomplishments.
“Menlo-Atherton has been a real leader in service learning, and I always want to support anyone, especially kids volunteering and performing service throughout the district,” Becker said.
Over the years, head coach Christopher Saunders has inspired the growth of sports service days from just football to girls and boys basketball, flag football, and water polo. As more teams got involved, the tradition shifted from an activity for one team to part of a broader culture of service at M-A.
“Of course, [M-A also] runs the largest public school canned food drive in the country,” Becker said.
Bringing service into sports has allowed M-A athletics teams to unite with a purpose that goes beyond the field. The lessons that the team gained from this experience may be just as valuable as the work that they did to help others.
“[The goal is] to be a great teammate, but also a great member of the community, and those two can go hand in hand,” Becker said.
