Mid Atlantic Christian University Men’s Basketball Team Volunteer at the Local Food Bank

Norfolk, VA-  The Mid Atlantic Christian University men's basketball team, from Elizabeth City, N.C., had the opportunity to give back to the community on September 12, 2020 at the Food Bank of the Albemarle.

This was the team’s first involvement with the food bank who serves not only Elizabeth City but a total of 15 surrounding counties, providing food and grocery items to over 100 non-profit and faith-based organizations as well as eligible individuals.  

The MACU men's basketball student-athletes usually enjoy sleeping in on the weekends, but the team had the desire and the drive to sacrifice their time and come together as a team off the court to support a local organization.  Malik Galloway, a senior from Tallahassee, Florida, stated “I enjoyed the event, it gave us a chance to come together to do something helpful in the community as well as learning different job skills that will help us in the future if we decided to work in that field”.

It's not just the idea of helping those in need that drove the young men to want to work with the food bank, it's also the alignment of their values.  The Food Bank of the Albemarle has a core value of excellence and "are committed to improving our performance every day", and much like food bank, the MACU men's basketball team is also striving for excellence on the court.  Leander Williams, a senior from Norfolk V.A., stated that “volunteering at the food bank was a great experience. I enjoyed helping because it is not only helping them out, it is helping the people in need. This was great for the team because if we could help each other out on the court, we could help and volunteer at the food bank.” 

Even more than an opportunity to serve their community, it was a chance for the team to get to know one another outside of basketball.  Kevin Fletcher, a senior from Detroit M.I., expressed his feelings about this experience.  Fletcher stated, “Personally I enjoyed the food bank experience because it was something I’ve never done before. I feel like this type of thing is perfect for team bonding because the team didn’t know a lot about each other, and this brought us together.”