Every fall, the Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement at Trinity College kicks off the year with “Do It Day”, a tradition that brings students and the Hartford community together through service. The event has become a staple of campus life, an opportunity to work side by side at different service sites in Hartford, build connections, and set the tone for a year rooted in community service and collaboration. This year, 292 athletes and their coaches participated, and their commitment to service does not stop there. Throughout the year, Trinity Athletics has continued to show up for the community, whether by hosting “Be the Match”, volunteering in shelters, fundraising, participating in “Team Impact”, or committing to a sustainable environment. Their efforts reflect a true dedication to making service a meaningful part of the athletic experience and to strengthening the bond between Trinity College and the Greater Hartford community.
Deputy Athletic Director Kristen Noone affirms this commitment: “Our student-athletes and coaches are dedicated to service and engagement with our local and broader community, as evidenced by the multitude of examples of that engagement each year. With everything our student-athletes face in balancing their busy days, it is a true testament to the spirit of NCAA Division III Athletics and is in line with our college mission.”
Every Trinity athletic team has committed to engaging in some form of service work. For the football team, this commitment includes serving lunch at homeless shelters in downtown Hartford every Wednesday during the spring semester, as well as hosting “Be the Match,” alongside Men’s and Women’s Squash teams, a program that invites people to join the national bone marrow donor registry. Remarkably, Trinity has had five successful matches in the past three years. “We feel it’s important for our players to have a well-rounded college experience, and giving back to the Hartford community is a part of that,” said Head Coach Jeffrey Devanney. “We want them to make a habit of doing for others so that it’s something they will continue when they are citizens in their communities after college.”
A continued presence in the community allows the team to move beyond one-time service projects and toward sustained relationships. Six teams are part of Team Impact (Men’s Basketball, Football, Ice Hockey, Soccer, and Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Track and Field teams), where they bring a child with a life-threatening or life-altering condition into the team as an honorary teammate. The Women’s teams are part of the “Let Her Play” and “National Girls and Women in Sports Day,” where they support keeping girls in sports and host sports clinics on campus. With Breast Cancer Awareness Month approaching, teams will once again join fundraising efforts, including the football team and Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field’s volunteer participation in the Susan G. Komen More Than Pink event.
Over the past year, the Men’s Ice Hockey team has supported and helped recruit blood donors during Trinity’s semesterly blood drives. They, alongside Football, Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country, and Men’s Basketball, have also been consistent donors to the annual Thanksgiving Drive hosted by the Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement. Meanwhile, Capitol Squash, hosted and supported by the Trinity College squash teams, continues its mission to provide underserved Hartford youth with life-changing opportunities through the sport of squash, intensive educational support, mentoring, and community service activities.
Trinity Athletics also works with the Sustainability Office on the Sustainable Athletics Representatives Program. Each team is encouraged to have at least one athlete serve as a Sustainable Athletics Rep who, in collaboration with others, helps make their teams and the department as a whole more sustainable. The program was launched last year with the support of Head Rep and Sustainability Intern Grace Sullivan, and this semester, the Head Rep is softball player Annika Haley.
“I’m proud to help lead the Bantams in making Trinity Athletics more sustainable, from reducing waste to supporting local food programs, and showing that small changes can make a big impact.” -Annika Haley ’26
Initiatives led by the Sustainable Athletics Reps include multiple food drives to support Food N Stuff and the Backpack Nutrition Program, waste stations for proper sorting at athletics events such as the spring home track meet, an Athletics Department-wide pledge to eliminate single-use plastic water bottles, signed by more than 100 athletes and 27 coaches, and a Softball Green Awareness Game during Earth Month, supported by the Women’s Ice Hockey team.
Student-athletes are consistently being given opportunities to learn, reflect, and grow alongside community members and contribute to Hartford beyond just the sports scene. Reflecting on this legacy of engagement, Noone concludes, “We are very proud of the tradition of service our student-athletes have continued to represent throughout their college careers and beyond!”
