DePaul University Athletics
Men's Tennis Wins ITA Community Service Award
5/22/2020 1:39:00 PM | MEN'S TENNIS
Blue Demons earn Midwest Regional honor for third time in four years
CHICAGO – For the third time in the last four years, the DePaul men's tennis team has been honored with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regional Community Service and Outreach Award.
Under the guidance and coordination of coach Matt Brothers and community service administrator Roger Uy, the Blue Demons logged 95 hours of community service and outreach this season.
Demonstrating the university's mission of service and promoting the values of St. Vincent de Paul, the student-athletes more than lived up to the ITA's initiative of recognizing "a team that gives back to its campus or community through tennis and non-tennis pathways." Men's tennis won this ITA award in 2017 and 2018.
Along with student-athletes from every DePaul sport, men's tennis made blankets for the under-served children of the St. Vincent DePaul Center which specializes in providing after-school care to children, job opportunities to the parents and groceries to needy families.
The tennis players continued their partnership with the Southwest Side non-profit organization Working Bikes which takes bicycle donations from the community and either resells the bike back to the community or ships it to their partners in Africa, South America, and Central America.
This year, the Blue Demons took part in a "shipping party," where they broke down more than 1,000 bikes that were placed in a shipping container bound for Africa.
Junior Tripp Tuff led a group of 34 DePaul students on a Global Brigades service trip to Honduras where they spent 10 days helping set up mobile clinics in areas with no access to health care.
They instructed the Honduran children about healthy dental hygiene and connected with the adults about health and hygiene.
Tuff led the way in constructing restroom facilities and sanitation stations consisting of a pour-flush toilet, a pour-over shower and a sink with running water. In some cases, it was the first bathrooms the families could ever call their own.
Global Brigades works year-round to help mitigate extreme poverty on a world-wide scale and currently operates in Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, Ghana and Greece.
The organization strives to provide a holistic approach to community development. Along with medical care and business education, Global Brigades presents communities with access to all necessities of life.
The tennis team also connected with the Marillac Food Pantry on the West Side setting up the shelves, walking the clients through the store and helping transport their groceries to their cars, to the bus stop or to their houses.
"This particular pantry was unique in that it set it up as more of a grocery store, giving the West Side residents an opportunity to choose their food instead of having someone pick it out for them," Brothers said. "People would shop for free with all the food donation-based from volunteers or the Chicago Food Bank."
Community service can also be as simple and fun as playing a childhood game. The "Band of Brothers" competed in the annual dodgeball tournament organized by Captains Council and student government where Blue Demon student-athletes and student organizations from all over campus came together to learn more about each other and prevail in this knockout game.
Teams and organizations paid an entry fee which went towards the Team IMPACT and DemonTHON charities.
Team IMPACT matches children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses with local college athletic teams. By being part of a team, children gain strength, resiliency and a support group to help them through their adversity.
DemonTHON is an annual dance marathon held on DePaul's campus that raises money for children affected by cancer at the Lurie Children's Hospital. Fundraising for the 24-hour event is raised throughout the year with the final tally announced at the end of the night.
"The act of helping others by way of community service is the foundation of DePaul University and echoes its Vincentian mission," Brothers said. "As a coach, I believe selflessness is vital for any group striving to function as a team and maximize the benefits and experience that go along with getting it right.
"The work our guys put in this year has assisted hundreds of those in need in our Chicago community and also internationally. Because of these experiences, my players are more in tune with the needs of others, have an appreciation for their overall privileged place in the world and are simply humble, high-character people.
"As their coach, helping them develop in these ways and taking these views into the real world following graduation is far more rewarding than any on-court win we could ever have."
Under the guidance and coordination of coach Matt Brothers and community service administrator Roger Uy, the Blue Demons logged 95 hours of community service and outreach this season.
Demonstrating the university's mission of service and promoting the values of St. Vincent de Paul, the student-athletes more than lived up to the ITA's initiative of recognizing "a team that gives back to its campus or community through tennis and non-tennis pathways." Men's tennis won this ITA award in 2017 and 2018.
Along with student-athletes from every DePaul sport, men's tennis made blankets for the under-served children of the St. Vincent DePaul Center which specializes in providing after-school care to children, job opportunities to the parents and groceries to needy families.
The tennis players continued their partnership with the Southwest Side non-profit organization Working Bikes which takes bicycle donations from the community and either resells the bike back to the community or ships it to their partners in Africa, South America, and Central America.
This year, the Blue Demons took part in a "shipping party," where they broke down more than 1,000 bikes that were placed in a shipping container bound for Africa.
Junior Tripp Tuff led a group of 34 DePaul students on a Global Brigades service trip to Honduras where they spent 10 days helping set up mobile clinics in areas with no access to health care.
They instructed the Honduran children about healthy dental hygiene and connected with the adults about health and hygiene.
Tuff led the way in constructing restroom facilities and sanitation stations consisting of a pour-flush toilet, a pour-over shower and a sink with running water. In some cases, it was the first bathrooms the families could ever call their own.
Global Brigades works year-round to help mitigate extreme poverty on a world-wide scale and currently operates in Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, Ghana and Greece.
The organization strives to provide a holistic approach to community development. Along with medical care and business education, Global Brigades presents communities with access to all necessities of life.
The tennis team also connected with the Marillac Food Pantry on the West Side setting up the shelves, walking the clients through the store and helping transport their groceries to their cars, to the bus stop or to their houses.
"This particular pantry was unique in that it set it up as more of a grocery store, giving the West Side residents an opportunity to choose their food instead of having someone pick it out for them," Brothers said. "People would shop for free with all the food donation-based from volunteers or the Chicago Food Bank."
Community service can also be as simple and fun as playing a childhood game. The "Band of Brothers" competed in the annual dodgeball tournament organized by Captains Council and student government where Blue Demon student-athletes and student organizations from all over campus came together to learn more about each other and prevail in this knockout game.
Teams and organizations paid an entry fee which went towards the Team IMPACT and DemonTHON charities.
Team IMPACT matches children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses with local college athletic teams. By being part of a team, children gain strength, resiliency and a support group to help them through their adversity.
DemonTHON is an annual dance marathon held on DePaul's campus that raises money for children affected by cancer at the Lurie Children's Hospital. Fundraising for the 24-hour event is raised throughout the year with the final tally announced at the end of the night.
"The act of helping others by way of community service is the foundation of DePaul University and echoes its Vincentian mission," Brothers said. "As a coach, I believe selflessness is vital for any group striving to function as a team and maximize the benefits and experience that go along with getting it right.
"The work our guys put in this year has assisted hundreds of those in need in our Chicago community and also internationally. Because of these experiences, my players are more in tune with the needs of others, have an appreciation for their overall privileged place in the world and are simply humble, high-character people.
"As their coach, helping them develop in these ways and taking these views into the real world following graduation is far more rewarding than any on-court win we could ever have."
Players Mentioned
/ MEN'S TENNIS
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