Bears Give Back: Numerous opportunities for student-athletes to make meaningful contributions to the community. Over 3000 hours of giving back was completed including:

 

BEARfoot for Bare Feet...During the women's basketball game versus UCLA, student-athletes collected $1,200 for the Barefoot for Bare Feet organization which sent shoes to the victims of Haiti.  Both staffs coached the entire game barefoot to raise awareness for the cause.

 

Berkeley Schools Campaign...The Men's Water Polo team swam and raised funds for the Berkeley Schools Campaign during a swim-a-thon at a local elementary school.

 

The Big Drive...Bear SAAC teamed up with Cardinal Council in a food drive competition during Big Game week. Over 1500 perishable items were collected and sent to the Alameda County Food Bank.

 

Cal Athletes 4 Life...Student-athletes participated in the 24-hour event Relay for Life, raising $5,000 and awareness for the American Cancer Society which goes directly towards cancer patients and research.

 

Campus Tours & Panels...Student-athletes led tours of Cal Athletic Facilities for several visiting elementary, middle and high schools. Afterwards, student-athletes talked about balancing academics and athletics at such a competitive level.

College Sports Day...Each team gathered on Maxwell Field to teach over 200 kids between the ages of 4-12 about their respective sports.

Cub Day... Student-athletes joined forces with the ASUC to help facilitate activities with local elementary schools as they visited the campus for a day.

 

Jog for Jill...The Men's & Women's Crew teams and many other student-athletes participated in the 5K Run for the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer foundation in honor of women's crew team member and lung cancer survivor Jill Costello.

 

Read Across America...The Women's Lacrosse team as well and other student-athletes read to the children at Washington Elementary School, Burton Valley Elementary School, and Glenview Elementary School during National Reading Week.

 

"SAAC" Lunches...After coordinating donations from Safeway, Whole Foods & Costco, student-athletes assembled and distributed 100 brown bags filled with delicious lunches to residents of People's Park and local areas in Berkeley.

 

Santa's Helper... Teams spread the holiday cheer by fulfilling wishes from children who would have otherwise gone without presents under the tree this year.

 

School Visits...Student-athletes visited with students throughout the semester at Martin Luther King Middle School, McClymons High School, and Glenview Elementary School, providing them with words of wisdom and encouragement to do well in school.

 

Soccer Without Borders...Girls from the Soccer without Borders program visited a Women's Soccer team practice and afterwards interacted with Cal players about teamwork, and their commitment to athletics and academics.

 

Thanksgiving Meals...Student-athletes volunteered to serve food at a local homeless shelter during the Thanksgiving holiday.

 

Tree Planting...The Men's & Women's Crew teams planted 40 redwood and 8 oak trees and removed large swaths of broom in the Redwoods Regional Park in Oakland Hills.

 

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"SAAC" Lunches

SAAC student-athletes joined together to make brown bag "SAAC" Lunches for the homeless people in the Berkeley community. Students reached out to local grocery stores and outlets such as Whole Foods, Safeway, and Costco to get food donated for the event. SAAC members were able to assemble 100 tasty lunches and hand them out to the hungry recipients of People's Park and surrouding streets of Berkeley.

       

Relay For Life

Relay For Life is a life-changing event that brings together more than 3.5 million people to celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer and remember loved ones lost to the disease. On May 1, Cal student-athletes gathered together to participate in this 24 hour relay. Students from multiple sports participated as one person started the walk around the track at 10 am on a Saturday morning and continued to alternate through the day/night until 10am the next morning. "Cal Athletes 4 Life" was the top fundraising team and raised over $5,000 towards the overall event total of $58,000.  All donations go directly to the The American Cancer Society for cancer research, advocacy, and support for cancer patients and their families.

        

Cal Bears Press Release on Relay for Life:  http://www.calbears.com/genrel/042310aaa.html

BEARfoot for Bare Feet

California women's basketball head coach Joanne Boyle and her staff coached in their bare feet on Saturday, Feb. 6 against UCLA in Haas Pavilion as part of the "Bears Go Bear Foot for Bear Feet" Initiative to raise awareness and money to purchase shoes for the impoverished children affected by the recent earthquake in Haiti. UCLA's staff, led by head coach Nikki Caldwell, also coached without shoes in Saturday's 2 p.m. game to aid Haiti's children, who suffer needlessly from foot-borne diseases and infections due to a lack of shoes. 

 

During the game, Cal's public-address announcer encouraged fans to donate money towards the cause. Samaritan's Feet, the humanitarian relief organization that created the initiative, purchased and shiped the shoes directly to Haiti.

                                      

 

Fans attending the game texted the word "SHOES" to 85944, and $5 was added to their next month's bill. In addition, members of Cal's Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) as well as other Cal student-athletes were present to collect money from fans who wish to donate. The Bears, wearing Cal apparel and also in their bare feet, were stationed at the entrances to the Haas bowl on the first and second levels collecting contributions before the game through the end of the first quarter. Also, four Cal student-athletes collecting donations for the "Bear Feet" Initiative were stationed at a table near Sections 4 and 5 in the Haas Pavilion lobby for the duration of the game. Altogether Cal raised over $1,200 for the cause.

 

Quote From Head Women's Basketball Coach Joanne Boyle:

 

"My coaching staff and I are proud to be able to partner with Samaritan's Feet and help the children affected by the terrible earthquake in Haiti," Boyle said. "I've always expressed to my players how important it is to give back and help those less fortunate. I'm glad we can participate in this event to raise both money and awareness. I'd like to thank SAAC for making this possible, and I'd also like to thank Nikki Caldwell and her coaching staff at UCLA for participating in this fundraiser on Saturday."