2021 aCATemy Awards - #CatsCare Community Involvement
Community Involvement Award Nominees
Anela Davis, Volleyball
-From Head Coach Chris Willis: "Anela Davis has picked up a project from Ada Jenkins and took it from scratch to an impactful movement. I'm just going to leave her comments here: Our mission is to provide each student enrolled in the Ada Jenkins Center LEARNWorks program with a personalized kit that will enrich their summer by increasing healthy habits both mentally and physically. Over the past year due to COVID-19, students at the center, as well as across the country, have had to adapt to online learning. While the students have shown great enthusiasm and flexibility, it has come at a great cost of extreme screen fatigue and isolation from their peers. These kits will provide the students with different materials to enjoy their summers and provide a break from the stresses of the academic school year without adding any financial burden to their families. This project is designed to supply students in the LEARNWorks program with fun and engaging summer activities that are catered towards the interest and ages of each student. As the center’s afterschool program, LEARNWorks provides critical academic support to local kids in grades one through eight, most of whom are one to two years behind in school. Given the social restraints that COVID has created, many students may not have the same opportunities they had in other summers. The kits are designed to give students fun and engaging activities to do over the summer. In addition, they also provide some practical/essential items that students may not have access to, like a pair of athletic socks, sunscreen, a towel, and a reusable water bottle. We are also hoping to get books to accompany the BookIt tickets for personal pizzas."
-From Anela Davis: "I am someone who benefited heavily from organizations like the Ada Jenkins Center. Giving back to the students in the LEARNWorks program is my way of paying the many kindnesses I’ve received forward. My hope is that these kits will provide joy during the break and appeal to the passions of the students, as each one is somewhat personalized towards their interests. My motivation to give back to organizations like the Ada Jenkins Center is rooted in the women around me. My aunt always made an effort to find extra cleats and football gear to those who were in need of the items. She took on the task of making sure that everyone was okay and that no one felt left out. You couldn’t walk by her without being offered water, a seat, or a meal/snack. As funny as that sounds, it is what I aspire to be. This project is providing me the opportunity to give students the same care that my aunt gave everyone around her. Over the past few months I have devoted time towards reaching out to local businesses and Davidson athletics to find resources to make these kits possible. After proposing the project, I began searching the costs of items we were wanting to include in the kits and creating a price sheet to get an idea of expenses. I have also organized a spreadsheet that keeps track of items donated and their respective teams/individuals that donated them. Although I have never taken on a project like this, my personal experiences with receiving kits similar to these, makes the project more personal. I am driven towards making sure each student’s interest is taken into consideration and that no one feels left out."
Daniel Alvarez-Orlachia, Men's Track & Field
-From Director Renny Waldron: "While Daniel’s athletic achievements are impressive- he is the Atlantic-10 champion and Davidson school record holder in the 800 meters-- his leadership record may even be more impressive! In addition to being the captain of the men’s track and field teams, Daniel has taken on many leadership roles on campus; he is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Campus Institute, a founding member of the Lamba Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, the first Latino fraternity on the Davidson campus, and serves as a panelist on the Hispanic College Awareness Program (HCAP). Daniel has led many community service projects, taking part and helping design special outreach programs focusing on helping minority students and assisting underprivileged LatinX households at the Ada Jenkins Children’s Center and curating a compilation of Black Lives Matters resources in spanish, helping to educate the LatinX community on the significance and history of the movement."
Kat Smith, Women's Soccer
-From Head Coach Adam Denton: "A Senior and a captain who has been an influential player on the field over the past four years, compiling nearly 4,500 minutes of game time and starting nearly every game in which she’s played. Yet, her service off the field is what sets her apart. Katherine is an incredible example of the liberal arts education: an education that not only builds intelligent contributors in academia but also productive citizens who make the world, practically, a better place. Katherine mentors children who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder as this cause is close to her heart because of her own family’s story with special needs. She has taught remote learning in Colombia, seeking a way to use her privilege and access to higher education to positively impact those around the world. Although the demands of being a scholar at Davidson are great in-and-of-themselves, Katherine also takes time to tutor other scholars at Davidson College in the Economics Department. Katherine sits as the Corporate Solicitations Board member at an organization at Davidson where she engages with companies in the community in order to raise money for early breast cancer detection screenings. Katherine intertwines her commitment to help others with the practical relational skills to impact people on a personal level. Additionally, Katherine also volunteers to teach Spanish at the Davidson Elementary School, in which she serves as both a teacher and a role model to younger children. Katherine’s love for sports and her desire to help others is most notably seen as the logistics officer for the Special Olympics Club on campus, where she invests in the personal and relational development of those in the Davidson community with special needs. Katherine also takes initiative to use her intellectual ability in data science and computer programming to help fellow scholar-athletes perform as well as, using her computer science skills to develop a COVID-19 dashboard for schools around the country over the last year."
Kellan Grady, Men's Basketball
- Launched College Athletes for Respect and Equality, a nationwide initiative with the MIMEH to raise awareness about racial injustice and to promote and create change in equality.
-Developed age-appropriate mini-curriculums for college athletes to present at elementary schools with lessons on the history of inequality and racial justice, themes as simple as the Golden Rule in the context of race.
Read more here
Liz Simms, Women's Track & Field
-From Director Jen Straub: "1. Liz volunteers at the Community garden every Saturday morning which allows for food to be donated to the Ada Jenkins Center. 2. Liz works at the exceptional children's assistance center which helps parents navigate the special education system by providing information, support, training and resources to assist families with special needs children. 3. she volunteered by setting up a Giving Tuesday campaign last semester and raised around $3,000 and continues to do community outreach for them. 4. She is a Davidson FTK member for the Children's Miracle Network. 5. She was instrumental in the clothing drive on Davidson's campus during winter break. 6. She is a Dream On 3 Logistics Team member which is an organization that is dedicated to providing a child with a life altering illness or disability with a sports dream of their choice. 7. She also exercises with children from ADA Jenkins for 30 minutes on Thursdays. To be honest, this isn't everything she does either. Liz is truly an amazing and inspiring person and I couldn't imagine a better recipient for this award."
Tavis Braithwaite, Men's Soccer
-Started the Organization Safer Police Encounters to educate people about their rights when confronted by police, and to educate on systemic racism, black history, and black culture.
-Read more here
Tyler Phelps, Football
-Led the effort to raise $25,000 for Rare Disease Research with Uplifting Athletes and Football's Lift for Life
Women's Basketball
-CatsCare Initiative this season had our program virtually making an impact in areas of Mental Health, Homelessness and Food Insecurity, Breast Cancer, Domestic Abuse, and the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Anela Davis, Volleyball
-From Head Coach Chris Willis: "Anela Davis has picked up a project from Ada Jenkins and took it from scratch to an impactful movement. I'm just going to leave her comments here: Our mission is to provide each student enrolled in the Ada Jenkins Center LEARNWorks program with a personalized kit that will enrich their summer by increasing healthy habits both mentally and physically. Over the past year due to COVID-19, students at the center, as well as across the country, have had to adapt to online learning. While the students have shown great enthusiasm and flexibility, it has come at a great cost of extreme screen fatigue and isolation from their peers. These kits will provide the students with different materials to enjoy their summers and provide a break from the stresses of the academic school year without adding any financial burden to their families. This project is designed to supply students in the LEARNWorks program with fun and engaging summer activities that are catered towards the interest and ages of each student. As the center’s afterschool program, LEARNWorks provides critical academic support to local kids in grades one through eight, most of whom are one to two years behind in school. Given the social restraints that COVID has created, many students may not have the same opportunities they had in other summers. The kits are designed to give students fun and engaging activities to do over the summer. In addition, they also provide some practical/essential items that students may not have access to, like a pair of athletic socks, sunscreen, a towel, and a reusable water bottle. We are also hoping to get books to accompany the BookIt tickets for personal pizzas."
-From Anela Davis: "I am someone who benefited heavily from organizations like the Ada Jenkins Center. Giving back to the students in the LEARNWorks program is my way of paying the many kindnesses I’ve received forward. My hope is that these kits will provide joy during the break and appeal to the passions of the students, as each one is somewhat personalized towards their interests. My motivation to give back to organizations like the Ada Jenkins Center is rooted in the women around me. My aunt always made an effort to find extra cleats and football gear to those who were in need of the items. She took on the task of making sure that everyone was okay and that no one felt left out. You couldn’t walk by her without being offered water, a seat, or a meal/snack. As funny as that sounds, it is what I aspire to be. This project is providing me the opportunity to give students the same care that my aunt gave everyone around her. Over the past few months I have devoted time towards reaching out to local businesses and Davidson athletics to find resources to make these kits possible. After proposing the project, I began searching the costs of items we were wanting to include in the kits and creating a price sheet to get an idea of expenses. I have also organized a spreadsheet that keeps track of items donated and their respective teams/individuals that donated them. Although I have never taken on a project like this, my personal experiences with receiving kits similar to these, makes the project more personal. I am driven towards making sure each student’s interest is taken into consideration and that no one feels left out."
Daniel Alvarez-Orlachia, Men's Track & Field
-From Director Renny Waldron: "While Daniel’s athletic achievements are impressive- he is the Atlantic-10 champion and Davidson school record holder in the 800 meters-- his leadership record may even be more impressive! In addition to being the captain of the men’s track and field teams, Daniel has taken on many leadership roles on campus; he is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Campus Institute, a founding member of the Lamba Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, the first Latino fraternity on the Davidson campus, and serves as a panelist on the Hispanic College Awareness Program (HCAP). Daniel has led many community service projects, taking part and helping design special outreach programs focusing on helping minority students and assisting underprivileged LatinX households at the Ada Jenkins Children’s Center and curating a compilation of Black Lives Matters resources in spanish, helping to educate the LatinX community on the significance and history of the movement."
Kat Smith, Women's Soccer
-From Head Coach Adam Denton: "A Senior and a captain who has been an influential player on the field over the past four years, compiling nearly 4,500 minutes of game time and starting nearly every game in which she’s played. Yet, her service off the field is what sets her apart. Katherine is an incredible example of the liberal arts education: an education that not only builds intelligent contributors in academia but also productive citizens who make the world, practically, a better place. Katherine mentors children who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder as this cause is close to her heart because of her own family’s story with special needs. She has taught remote learning in Colombia, seeking a way to use her privilege and access to higher education to positively impact those around the world. Although the demands of being a scholar at Davidson are great in-and-of-themselves, Katherine also takes time to tutor other scholars at Davidson College in the Economics Department. Katherine sits as the Corporate Solicitations Board member at an organization at Davidson where she engages with companies in the community in order to raise money for early breast cancer detection screenings. Katherine intertwines her commitment to help others with the practical relational skills to impact people on a personal level. Additionally, Katherine also volunteers to teach Spanish at the Davidson Elementary School, in which she serves as both a teacher and a role model to younger children. Katherine’s love for sports and her desire to help others is most notably seen as the logistics officer for the Special Olympics Club on campus, where she invests in the personal and relational development of those in the Davidson community with special needs. Katherine also takes initiative to use her intellectual ability in data science and computer programming to help fellow scholar-athletes perform as well as, using her computer science skills to develop a COVID-19 dashboard for schools around the country over the last year."
Kellan Grady, Men's Basketball
- Launched College Athletes for Respect and Equality, a nationwide initiative with the MIMEH to raise awareness about racial injustice and to promote and create change in equality.
-Developed age-appropriate mini-curriculums for college athletes to present at elementary schools with lessons on the history of inequality and racial justice, themes as simple as the Golden Rule in the context of race.
Read more here
Liz Simms, Women's Track & Field
-From Director Jen Straub: "1. Liz volunteers at the Community garden every Saturday morning which allows for food to be donated to the Ada Jenkins Center. 2. Liz works at the exceptional children's assistance center which helps parents navigate the special education system by providing information, support, training and resources to assist families with special needs children. 3. she volunteered by setting up a Giving Tuesday campaign last semester and raised around $3,000 and continues to do community outreach for them. 4. She is a Davidson FTK member for the Children's Miracle Network. 5. She was instrumental in the clothing drive on Davidson's campus during winter break. 6. She is a Dream On 3 Logistics Team member which is an organization that is dedicated to providing a child with a life altering illness or disability with a sports dream of their choice. 7. She also exercises with children from ADA Jenkins for 30 minutes on Thursdays. To be honest, this isn't everything she does either. Liz is truly an amazing and inspiring person and I couldn't imagine a better recipient for this award."
Tavis Braithwaite, Men's Soccer
-Started the Organization Safer Police Encounters to educate people about their rights when confronted by police, and to educate on systemic racism, black history, and black culture.
-Read more here
Tyler Phelps, Football
-Led the effort to raise $25,000 for Rare Disease Research with Uplifting Athletes and Football's Lift for Life
Women's Basketball
-CatsCare Initiative this season had our program virtually making an impact in areas of Mental Health, Homelessness and Food Insecurity, Breast Cancer, Domestic Abuse, and the Black Lives Matter Movement.
