Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. - The Molloy College and Roberts Wesleyan athletic departments are the recipients of the 2019 East Coast Conference Community Engagement Award of Excellence. This award is presented annually to the institution that hosts an activity on their campus which embodies the principles of community engagement by building relationships and bridging the gap between campus and community.

Molloy wins for their Sports Badge Program with the Girl Scouts of Nassau County. This year, Molloy SAAC’S female student-athletes developed a partnership with Girl Scouts of Nassau County and visited two local elementary schools in underrepresented areas for Girl Scouts meetings. The Molloy SAAC members developed outlines to help girls earn Fair Play and Practice with a purpose Girl Scouts Badges. For the fair play badge, Molloy’s student-athletes taught young girls the importance of following rules, sportsmanship, treating each other with respect, and including everyone, as they learned the basics of warming up, stretching, and playing soccer. The Practice with Purpose badge plan encouraged young girls to develop personal goals and set steps to achieve those goals and focused on the importance of hard work while learning basic basketball skills.

Each session ended with question and answer sessions about college and sports, helping these young girls create a positive vision for their future. The student-athletes were able to award the Daisy, Brownie, and Junior Girl Scouts with the badges they earned at the conclusion of each three-session program. Over 82 hours were dedicated to this program during the Spring.

Roberts Wesleyan was awarded for their B.E.L.L. program. The BELL program or, The Bridge to Earning, Living and Learning Program, focuses on assisting with the development of inclusive relationships and experiences to help bridge the gap for students 18- 26 with intellectual disabilities. The student-athletes can be found on Redhawk Fridays spending time with these students. The afternoon starts off with lunch together in Garlock Cafeteria and then move over to the Voller Athletic Center where they participate together in the universal language of sport. From shooting free throws, to kicking around a soccer ball, to swimming and bowling, the students get to participate in it all. The Redhawks have dedicated over 60 hours to this program throughout this year. 

The Lions and Redhawks were recognized at the East Coast Conference Awards Dinner where they received a plaque and a $250 grant.