Bellevue athletes, staff volunteer at Open Door Mission

Several Bellevue University student-athletes and staff members volunteered on Friday, Oct. 17, at the Open Door Mission in Omaha to work hand-in-hand with the community to give help and hope to the area’s hungry and homeless.

Athletes from the school’s baseball, men’s soccer and softball teams as well as athletic department staff members all volunteered their time for this worthy cause.

Over 800 sack lunches were made by the volunteers and then the room was transformed into a sitting room for people who came to the mission to have a place to eat their lunch.

All of the Bruins were assigned different duties throughout the day. These jobs included working the salad bar line, helping in the serving line, rotating food in the stock room, emptying the trash, as well as prepping food for the supper meal by peeling and cutting potatoes, peeling and mashing hardboiled eggs, and cutting celery, onions and other vegetables.

“This was a very rewarding experience for everyone involved,” said head men’s soccer coach and NAIA Champions of Character coordinator Matt Briggs. “I really felt like we got as much out of this as did the patrons of the Open Door Mission. We look forward to helping them in the future and providing continued support for this very important cause.”

The athletic department will continue to engage in several community service efforts throughout the coming months.