Archives: Making a Difference

Another year and another record has fallen as the California Baptist University Athletics Department hit a new record high in its sixth annual Student Athlete Advisory Committee canned food drive.

A total of 6,602 cans were donated to A Foundation for Kids, a nonprofit organization based in Riverside, just before Thanksgiving, with each Lancer team competing for top honors. The charity is dedicated to supporting children’s agencies and youth organizations that serve abused and at-risk children in Southern California, with a focus on Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange County and Los Angeles.

“I’m thrilled to have our coaches, staff and athletes give back to the community of Riverside,” CBU Director of Athletics Dr. Micah Parker said. “The Student Athlete Advisory Committee spearheaded this project and provided A Foundation for Kids with some much needed resources.  This is a way our student-athletes can honor Christ through excellence in athletics.”

With the record-setting output, CBU topped its record collection from 2014 when it amassed 6,383. In 2013, the drive resulted in just under 5,000 cans. The two victorious teams were water polo on the men’s side and cheer for the women.

A week before Thanksgiving, California Baptist University Athletics teamed up to brighten the holidays of community families and children with their fifth annual canned food drive.

The Lancers collected a record 6,383 cans to be donated to A Foundation for Kids, a nonprofit organization based in Riverside. The charity is dedicated to supporting children’s agencies and youth organizations that serve abused and at-risk children in Southern California, with a focus on Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange County and Los Angeles. On average, each CBU athlete donated 14.5 cans with each program competing for top honors.

“I am very proud of our athletes for coming together for the community,” CBU Director of Athletics Dr. Micah Parker said. “It is always great to see them rally around a good cause, and it’s even more special when they are doing so in record fashion.”

With the record-setting output, CBU collected more than 1,000 cans than it did from 2013, which fell right under the 5,000 mark.

CBU cheer won the competition between the Lancer programs for highest average of cans donated per athlete with a whopping 45 resulting in 2,264 total cans to earn bragging rights on the women’s side for the third year in a row. Swim/dive and soccer took second and third, respectively, among the women. Men’s volleyball was victorious on the other end, with the team averaging 28 cans per person for a total of 533 cans. Baseball and golf took second and third, respectively, for the Lancer men.

“This is always a really fun event,” Parker said. “Hopefully, we keep on setting new records.”

     

Mike Brady is the owner of Lucky Air, Inc. and is a true Lancer fan through-and-through.  Having graduated from Cal State, San Bernardino, Brady studied psychology but later changed his path to construction engineering as he was eager to become a working professional. Brady is now the owner of a leading local company, Lucky Air, Inc.  The company stays focused on local business and gives back to the community by participating in the Community Action Program, which provides low income families with the opportunity to make houses more energy efficient. 

  Brady and his wife, April, have been married for three years with two boys and one girl, all under the age of 12. California Baptist University came into the family’s life when they began attending Sandals Church, which held their services on CBU’s campus. The family’s love for sports connected them quickly to Lancer Athletics. With their kids playing soccer and Brady coaching an AYSO team, the family took interest in attending the women’s soccer games. The Brady family felt they should give back to the team that had brought them so much joy and excitement and became major supporters of CBU soccer.

“We are blessed to be able to give in addition to our tithes with a sense of pride and accomplishment to women’s soccer,” Brady said, “In return, we have had opportunities multiply as the program has not only changed our family’s perspective on giving, they have given us an open door to bring our youth soccer teams to the games and experience CBU. I have also been blessed with having the opportunity to learn from Head Coach St. Clair and gain better knowledge of the sport from a coach’s perspective.”

In addition to Brady’s passion of soccer, he enjoys giving to the CBU team because he wants, “To encourage their success.”
 
“I would encourage others to support CBU athletics for countless reasons,” Brady said. “The feeling of giving back to a great university that gives back to so many others and enriches youth’s lives is the most rewarding feeling.”