Tar Heels Serve At SECU House

By Joe Wedra, UNC Athletic Communications

Sometimes, all it takes is cooking a meal for others to appreciate how rewarding being a student-athlete really is.

Members of the North Carolina volleyball, field hockey, softball and rowing teams have had that experience over the past month, preparing and serving meals for the guests at SECU Family House in Chapel Hill. It's a popular activity for Tar Heel teams throughout the year, with softball's Spring Break breakfast on Friday just the latest visit.

Teamwork this am . All hands on deck preparing breakfast @SECU House. #givingbacknevergetsold pic.twitter.com/FamJdb1Klv
— Carolina Softball (@UNCSoftball) March 16, 2018

Celebrating its 10-year anniversary this spring, the SECU Family House providing affordable lodging for patients and families who travel for treatment at UNC Hospitals. It acts as a safe and reliable location to stay, often offering free meals courtesy of volunteer programs.

The need for a facility like the SECU house is so high that it's expanding, nearly doubling in size from 45 to 70 guest rooms. (For more information on the expansion, click here.) That means more opportunities for Tar Heels to serve.

Producing a meal involves planning out the menu, shopping for supplies and then preparing food for 25-30 people. The volleyball, field hockey and softball teams made breakfast, while the rowing team, led by senior Caitlin Beakes, organized a full taco bar to serve residents at night.

Beakes, a team captain and outreach coordinator, has organized multiple meals at SECU Family House this year. Now in her last semester at Carolina, she's enjoyed watching fellow student-athletes connect over the simple idea of serving others.

"It's a super great team-building activity," she said. "It requires a lot of communication and delegation, so we have to split ourselves into smaller teams. Any sort of team bonding activity is going to transfer over well to your sport because you trust each other more if you have a cohesive team environment. It definitely helps for team culture."

Senior Madison Laufenberg, a member of the volleyball team who helped coordinate breakfast, spoke to the social experience of the outreach. Once everyone is served, the teams grab plates of their own and sit with the residents. It's there, Laufenberg says, that the hard work from coordinating and preparing the meal pays off.

"Everybody as we were leaving the house said 'thank you so much for setting this up, it was so much fun'," the senior described. "We're a very social group of girls, so we love talking to people anyway. But especially meeting some inspiring people and humbling us a little bit, it was really cool."

For the student-athletes, it's an opportunity to utilize a unique platform that allows them to add joy into the lives of those going through difficult times. For everyone involved, there's a special value in doing just that. The fact they also get to enjoy being with their teammates is an added bonus.

"Any time we get to spend together helps us get closer, but especially doing something for other people and something we have a goal for," Laufenberg said. "We weren't just hanging out. It's something we had to accomplish. It was definitely character-building for us."

Players Mentioned

Caitlin Beakes

Madison Laufenberg

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