Last year, five American University teams contributed hundreds of hours of community service through Athletes For Hope, a non-profit dedicated to assisting athletes in engaging with the community.

More than 100 student-athletes from women’s basketball, women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, men’s basketball, and wrestling clocked more than 700 hours with the organization last year. Through workshops and community engagements, athletes advocated for a range of topics, including mental health awareness; LGBTQ+ issues; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and sustainability.

Athletes For Hope helps teams partner with local organizations to facilitate workshops and initiatives that, as its mission states, “make the world a better place.” The AFH University program (AFH U), founded in 2013, is specifically tailored to helping athletes volunteer and advocate for community causes that they’re passionate about. American is one of only 24 universities that take part in AFH U’s programming.

Some of AU’s initiatives last year included making almost 3,000 PB&J sandwiches for Shepard’s Table and assisting them with breakfast service; six awareness games across three teams; an Athlete Mental Health Week video made by the lacrosse team; and an annual soccer tournament for third through fifth graders with DC SCORES. Athletes For Hope estimate that AU’s contributions last year alone impacted more than 10,000 people.