University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Photo by: Christian Blanks
Women's Basketball Visits Rodarte Center in the Off Time
2/19/2020 2:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Bears sat and read with kids at the local community center
Northern Colorado women's basketball took a break from the court and went out to give back to the community. The team visited the Rodarte Community Center in Greeley to spend time and read with the kids.
The Rodarte Community Center is in downtown Greeley and offers a wide range of services through its Youth Enrichment Program. Rodarte provides after school programs and camps to kids, along with classes to prepare for the GED. The center also offers boxing classes for kids.
UNC forward Micayla Isenbart and guard Jasmine Gayles talked about the experience and why it's important to the team.
"The best part is hearing what they have to say; kids come up with the craziest things to say," Isenbart said. "It's my favorite part about athletics. The community relationships you can build and people you can reach. You can create connections and I want to keep doing that with kids and adults alike."
"I met one girl that I read with and I thought it was cool to connect with her on a personal level and know her outside of school and what she is into," Gayles said. "I think it's really good to connect with the community and find opportunities like this to get to know people better. They come to our games and support us and I think it's important to get to know them and what they're all about."
The Youth Enrichment program helps to promote a positive presence in the Greeley community. It helps to provide recreational, educational and cultural programs for Greeley youth and citizenry that can hopefully lead to a reduction in criminal activities.
"I think spending time with them and letting them see role molds in what, potentially, they want to get into later in life is makes an impact," Isenbart added. "I think the quality time is really important to them."
"I think it helps us when they come to our games, they see us as basketball players," Gayles said. "They don't really connect with us as much and talk to us. But when we come here, we get to know the community better. Hopefully, it makes them want to come to games more often and get to know us as individuals."
Not only has the team gone and interacted with the kids at the Rodarte Center, but they have helped Habitat for Humanity build houses, volunteered at an assistant living during the holidays to make cards and gingerbread houses and visit local youth in the hospital to bring a smile to their face.
To stay up to date on all things UNC women's basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @UNC_BearsWBB.
The Rodarte Community Center is in downtown Greeley and offers a wide range of services through its Youth Enrichment Program. Rodarte provides after school programs and camps to kids, along with classes to prepare for the GED. The center also offers boxing classes for kids.
UNC forward Micayla Isenbart and guard Jasmine Gayles talked about the experience and why it's important to the team.
"The best part is hearing what they have to say; kids come up with the craziest things to say," Isenbart said. "It's my favorite part about athletics. The community relationships you can build and people you can reach. You can create connections and I want to keep doing that with kids and adults alike."
"I met one girl that I read with and I thought it was cool to connect with her on a personal level and know her outside of school and what she is into," Gayles said. "I think it's really good to connect with the community and find opportunities like this to get to know people better. They come to our games and support us and I think it's important to get to know them and what they're all about."
The Youth Enrichment program helps to promote a positive presence in the Greeley community. It helps to provide recreational, educational and cultural programs for Greeley youth and citizenry that can hopefully lead to a reduction in criminal activities.
"I think spending time with them and letting them see role molds in what, potentially, they want to get into later in life is makes an impact," Isenbart added. "I think the quality time is really important to them."
"I think it helps us when they come to our games, they see us as basketball players," Gayles said. "They don't really connect with us as much and talk to us. But when we come here, we get to know the community better. Hopefully, it makes them want to come to games more often and get to know us as individuals."
Not only has the team gone and interacted with the kids at the Rodarte Center, but they have helped Habitat for Humanity build houses, volunteered at an assistant living during the holidays to make cards and gingerbread houses and visit local youth in the hospital to bring a smile to their face.
To stay up to date on all things UNC women's basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @UNC_BearsWBB.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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