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The NCAA News -- April 12, 1999

End Zone

Haverford reaches its roots in Habitat for Humanity project

BY KAY HAWES
STAFF WRITER

At Haverford College -- the oldest U.S. college with Quaker roots -- community service is simply part of the tradition.

The Haverford women's soccer team has continued that tradition with a community-service project that involved more elbow grease than public relations skills. On a cold Saturday in November, the student-athletes traded their soccer cleats for hammers and drills, helping to renovate a building with the Habitat for Humanity organization.

The future occupants of the building -- low-income and battered women -- probably will not know that their renovations were due to the efforts of these young soccer players, but that's OK with the student-athletes. They just wanted to be of assistance to the organization. They were tickled when they found out that their efforts would benefit women who had experienced difficult lives.

"I've always been a fan of Habitat for Humanity," said Melissa Rosenzweig, the sophomore fullback who has been the team's unofficial community-service organizer this season. "When we got there and we found out that it would help low-income and battered women, it was a nice twist on things."

Team members used a jackhammer to tear up sidewalk concrete, which was later replaced with a garden. They poured cement steps for a porch and dug space in the back yard for the foundation of the porch.

Once inside the building, they re-mortared walls, repaired mortar between bricks and installed overhead lights. They also removed large amounts of rubble and waste from the site.

"I think the hands-on part of the experience was attractive," said Rosenzweig, an anthropology major. "There were a lot of freshmen who participated (in the project), so I thought overall it was a good bonding experience for us."

The team plans other service opportunities with Habitat. A recent attempt to serve at a Habitat site in Philadelphia had to be rescheduled when the site organizer became ill.

Coach Wendy Smith appreciated the team's efforts. "I think community service is really important in that it enables the players to step away from campus life and get themselves involved in the real world," she said.

"It's also an opportunity for the players to bond and achieve a goal off of the soccer field. By helping to refurbish a house, they can see the benefits of hard work and team effort and promote a good feeling of self. Community service is an invaluable experience and hopefully many of the players will continue giving back to their communities throughout their years at Haverford and beyond."

The Fords had a successful soccer season this year as well, finishing 10-7-2 overall.

"The college has a long tradition of service dating back to its Quaker origins," said athletics director Greg Kannerstein. "Since coach Smith is a Haverford grad, I'm not surprised that she would transmit her enthusiasm for this kind of a project to her players. I have always found that teams that do service work together usually play better on the field, and Haverford's women soccer team is certainly an example of this."

In addition to taking their community-service work and their soccer seriously, the Fords mean business in academics as well. The team was the recipient of a 1998 National Soccer Coaches Association of America College Team Academic Award, with a grade-point average of 3.125.

Even with their often hectic schedules, the women appreciate the chance to do their part.

"Even though we are busy people, it seems like an opportune time for us to help others," Rosenzweig said. "We're young and energetic, and there's a lot of us, so we can really help get things done."