The Drake University Athletic Department staff and coaches participated in a day of service to give back to the Des Moines community as part of the Year of the Fan in recognition of Paul Morrison's commitment and passion for Drake Athletics.
 
"Today we were honoring Paul F. Morrison for his 100 years of life and his outstanding and amazing service to the athletic department. We were out in the community to honor him," said Drake director of athletics Sandy Hatfield Clubb. "It was a great opportunity for us to be together and to serve the community as a family."
 
The Bulldogs spent their morning volunteering at three different organizations in the Des Moines metro; Food Bank of Iowa, Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity.
 
One group of Bulldogs spent their time boxing 120 meal packs that will help feed families in need at the Food Bank of Iowa.
 
"It's really important when community organizations come in and work with us to prepare food for distribution out for people in need. For Drake, it is especially important because you have an important community institution here in Des Moines coming to the Food Bank of Iowa to help people in need," said Food Bank of Iowa Communications Manager Danny Akright. "Drake University happens to be in a neighborhood with a lot of need so it is even more meaningful when Drake staff or students come to the Food Bank of Iowa to prepare meals to go out that may actually end up in their neighbors' hands."
 
Drake sent volunteers to both of Habitat for Humanity's ReStore Centers, where they helped unload cabinetry and assembled and sorted donated furniture.
 
"We are so happy to have the Drake volunteers spend the morning with us. We always need the help in the store and welcome community volunteers all year," said Urbandale Habitat ReStore store director Zach Frank.
 
The rest of the Bulldog staff and coaches were split up between three Goodwill locations and sorted donations, organized sale items on racks and shelves and moved sale items to the sales floor.
 
"Volunteers save us time organizing. When it is organized and easy to shop, people shop more, which contributes to our funding. We have daily goals to meet that helps create job placement," said Goodwill assistant manager Grace Williamson. "We love volunteers coming in and want to spread the word. You can see the difference it makes on the shelves. It contributes a lot."
 
"This was a great idea for a lot of reasons - one, to give back to the community. It's simple, it's time, but it makes an impact and is easy for us to do. Second, it's great to get the entire athletic department together for a joint project. Third, with the holidays coming up, it's a good reason to get together and celebrate and be thankful for what we have and how fortunate we are with what we're doing and making an impact is pretty meaningful," said Drake head men's golf coach Matt Lewis.