Children; Heidersbach Reconnects
BEREA, OHIO -- For three of the last four summers, Baldwin-Wallace College Head Football Coach John Snell has given his student-athletes a special project. The job of each Yellow Jacket football student-athlete is to procure and gather school supplies for needy Cleveland area school children.
The benefacticiary of Snell’s team project are the school children who are supported by the University Settlement group at 4800 Broadway Avenue in Cleveland. It is a good partnership according to Snell.
"We are helping young children in Cleveland have a better opportunity to get a quality education," said Snell, in his fourth year at his alma mater. "It is our way to give back to the community."
"It is a good project for both of us," said Snell. "We have to sacrifice time, effort and sometimes some of our own money to help someone who is less fortunate. It builds leadership and character and creates initative by our young men."
"We enjoy helping those who are less fortunate," said senior team captain and outside linebacker Justin Princehorn. "We are happy to help a needy child get the school supplies he or she needs to help them learn. It is a total team effort and every guy on the team is happy to do it and feels good about having the opportunity to help."
The first two years of the project, it was sponsored by the University Settlement and the Ford Motor Company. Then after a one-year hiatus, the project took a B-W related twist.
Since the programs inception four years ago, B-W Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations Annie Heidersbach, a 1987 graduate of the College, has been involved. Heidersbach has played the "point position" for John Snell and has worked directly with either the Ford Motor Company and now University Settlement. So, this summer when Heidersbach called University Settlement, she received a big surprise.
"I called like I always do to see what we could do to make this project a reality again," said Heidersbach, who was an Ohio Athletic Conference champion cross country runner and a national qualifier in distance in track while as a student and athlete at B-W. "When I was told that Debbie Richter was handling the project for University Settlement, I had just one more question. "Is it that same Debbie Richter who graduated from B-W."
Heidersbach initially met Debbie Richter and her husband on a flight from the Caribbean back to the United States when she was a flight attendant for United Airlines. While talking, Debbie and Annie, who were both older and non-traditional students discussed that each was going back to school. Both Debbie and Annie each had attended Lorain County Community College. Now both were going to B-W to complete degrees and were going into the same Communications program. Each graduated in 1987.
"What a great experience," said Heidersbach. "We were able to help needy children in the Cleveland area and I was able to reconnect with an old friend. It really is a very small world. I am so grateful."
You also can bet that there are a number of needy Cleveland area school children who are grateful too.
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