Emily Minnick helping out with the Special Olympics earlier this fall.
While the NDSU volleyball team is going to Nicaragua this summer to compete against the national team and build team chemistry, they will also be serving the Nicaraguan community. Head coach Kari Thompson has planned for the team to teach English, host volleyball clinics and ride the bookmobile while reading to children and preparing them for another school year with classroom supplies.
Giving back to the community is in coach Thompson’s blood and her team has grown a new taste for helping where they can, too. Thompson volunteers at Fargo’s Special Olympics and helps organize volleyball events. In April, the NDSU volleyball team worked with members of Fargo’s Special Olympics and taught the rules and techniques of the game.
“A lot of what they do, I encourage them to do on their own because think it’s something that’s important to kids and to be invested in and to do it for the right reasons,” Thompson said. “Otherwise, you’re not really benefiting anyone else with that.”
Thompson said many of her athletes are involved with Fellowship of Christian Athletes and go to elementary classrooms across the city on their own to read to children.[/text_output]
