Junior Sarah Bingham slammed her locker shut and cooled down after an intense volleyball practice filled with sprints and serves. She went to the senior parking lot, not to blast the A/C in her car and head home, but to get on a school bus with other athletes to package and hand out new clothing at Micah Ministries.
Bingham is a part of the Student Activities Advisory Council (SAAC) which consists of 32 of East’s “outstanding student athletes,” according to Athletic Director Debbie Katzfey. The students are nominated to be on the council by their respective sports coach based on their leadership ca
pabilities and athletic progress.
One Thursday a month the council meets in the library with Head Football Coach Justin Hoover, Associate Principal Susan Leonard and Katzfey to hear leadership lectures from Hoover. They also self-evaluate their individual capabilities of leadership on and off the field because, according to Bingham, athletes can’t be good leaders without knowing who they are.
The meetings are also a way for the students to form close relationships with people of all grades at East and to catch up with everyone’s season and life, according to varsity cross country captain and gymnast, senior Brooklyn Beck.
“These meetings are really important to have for the students because they are a way for them to bond with anyone from all sports,” Katzfey said.
Every month or so, the students take field trips for community outreach. The students recently carried their leadership roles to Micah ministries on Oct. 28. Micah Ministries — a volunteering group at the Independence Boulevard Christian Church in Downtown Kansas City — is a partner with SAAC, and the students have been volunteering there for the past three years.
On field trip days, the students leave East on a school bus around 5:30 p.m. so they have time between their practices to change and take a break. At Micah Ministries, they make hot food, organize sanitization kits, pass out clothes or talk with the people coming there, according to Katzfey.
“[They’ve been] wonderful helpers — [They are] very focused and joyful, which really is a gift to guests,” Reverend of Independence Boulevard Church Lee Chiaramonte said.
One moment that struck junior and varsity soccer player Caden Nicholson while volunteering was an encounter he had with a young homeless woman and her child. He sympathized as she told him about her life living as a young woman without a home while trying to care for her child in the cold fall weather.
“Just having a quick conversation with and serving her meant so much to me seeing how a small action helped her out,” Nicholson said. “It really put my life into perspective and it felt so good to help everyone out as a team.”
The council is continuing their outreach this winter through their projects with the H
ope House — a shelter for women and children in abusive situations. The students are encouraged to spread the word to students not involved in SAAC and will be bringing a collection of stuffed animals they’ve collected from students donations.
Being apart of SAAC, the students althetes’ goal is to carry their leadership on the field to their outer community. Along with volunteering they are using their leadership skills to help out all athletes at East through their new initiative Lancers for Lancers, a cooperative effort of the students to bring in more attendees to every type of sporting event.
According to Bingham, after having the bleachers in the main gym packed with attendees at her volleyball game on senior night and the soccer regionals – which she attended – it’s important that every sport has a crowd to support them.
“It feels amazing when there is a large atmosphere and people are cheering you and anyone who plays a sport at East deserves that feeling,” Bingham said.
During their meeting on Nov. 7, each student chose a few upcoming games to attend and are tasked with encouraging friends and peers through anything from an Instagram story post or just telling friends to come to most of the games to hype up the players and hopefully help them play better, according to Nicholson.
“Rather than just going to the same sports games, they are coming together as Lancers to support one another when they play and show how strong our community is,” Katzfey said.