Before the fall semester at Barton Community College wrapped up on Tuesday, the Great Bend Tribune asked Athletic Director Trevor Rolfs to share some of the community service work done this fall by student athletes.

Normally, community service would include visiting local K-12 schools and interacting with younger students. But Great Bend USD 428 was closed to visitors this year.

“It has been difficult to find avenues to get our student athletes involved like most years because all the Covid restrictions,” Rolf said. “However, we have found a few opportunities to safely engage our athletic programs this fall.”

On Oct. 18, students joined other volunteers for a cleanup day at area parks. Rolfs had photos of the bowling teams and the volleyball team at Great Bend Parks.

Several groups coordinated the effort, including the Barton County Health Department, United Way of Central Kansas, the Great Bend Recreation Commission and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Kansas Chronic Disease Reduction program. Students signed up through Volunteers in Action. 

The women’s basketball team attended at the Red Cross blood drive on Oct. 2 at the Holiday Inn Express and on Oct. 30 they helped with a Halloween “parade” for children at Barton’s Child Development Center, held in the Kirkman building.

On Nov. 4, Cougar Sports Medicine students helped with the My Backyard playground surface rejuvenation. A new layer of surface mulch was laid down to level low areas. (Great Bend Tribune readers may remember that Great Bend High School student volunteers also helped with this project.)

These were just a few examples for which Rolfs was able to supply photos, and does not include other areas of study beyond athletics. “We have had other programs and student athletes involved in additional community service projects,” Rolf said.