From D.C. to the college campus youth leadership program in full swing

Aug. 27, 2008

In 2007 the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the American Red Cross (ARC) created the ARC/NAIA Youth Leadership Program to foster and inspire a new, diverse generation of Red Cross volunteers and leaders. Through generous support of the Red Cross and State Farm Insurance $50,000 has been awarded in college scholarships and NAIA student-athletes have worked together to increase blood collection on college campuses by 76 percent. The highly successful program has changed the lives of 23 NAIA student-athletes whose work not only saves lives but champions a philanthropic cause. With plans underway for year three the program continues to impact communities throughout the country.

The ARC/NAIA Youth Leadership Program compliments the Association's mission to advance character-driven intercollegiate athletics. The NAIA approaches sport and activity as an opportunity to intentionally teach beyond the fundamentals through the philosophy of its flagship program Champions of Character. The Red Cross initiative is a tremendous extension of Champions of Character and enhances the student-athlete experience beyond competition and into professional development.

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Students complete a two-week leadership training session at the Red Cross Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Throughout the capitol stay athletes meet with Red Cross and NAIA leaders to learn about the two organizations and how to be successful advocates for the American Red Cross and how to be triumphant in blood collection efforts on campus.

Throughout the training session students meet with Brian Hamil who is the National Chair of Biomedical Services for the Red Cross and a Bethel College (Ind.) graduate. Hamil had the concept for the leadership program and saw many parallels between Champions of Character and Red Cross objectives. With Hamil's leadership and sponsorship commitment from the Red Cross and State Farm the ARC/NAIA Youth Leadership Program was born. Hamil and his team work on a regular basis with program participants and Hamil attends scholarship check presentations at college campuses throughout the year.

Following training in D.C. student-athletes serve on Blood Region Boards of Directors and sponsor blood drives on college campuses throughout the country. Ethan Gentry and Katie Filiatreau, members of the 2008-09 class, have teamed up to take on a student leadership role within the group of twelve student-athletes who recently finished training this past June. Gentry and Filiatreau will organize opportunities throughout the year for progress reports and track what events are going on at NAIA campuses.

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Gentry a baseball player at Vanguard University (Calif.) and Filiatreau a basketball player at Georgetown College (Ky.) returned to campus this past week to embark on not only their senior year but also put into action what they learned over the summer. Similar despite their chosen sports, Gentry and Filiatreau are juggling demanding schedules but determined to succeed as Red Cross ambassadors.

Gentry works as an athletic trainer throughout the year and plans to attend graduate school for physical therapy. In the weeks ahead Gentry will meet with university representatives in the student affairs office to plan dates for blood collection events on the Costa Mesa campus. On September 25, Gentry will join Hamil at the Red Cross Southern California Region's Annual Meeting where the California native will visit with other board members. Gentry commented he was eager to get back to campus and have face to face conversations with administrators and set dates for his sponsored blood drives. Despite other campus commitments Gentry looks forward to working with the American Red Cross and being a successful part of the student-athlete team.

Joining Gentry is Filiatreau. A senior guard for the Georgetown Tigers basketball team, Filiatreau is in the trenches of senior year obligations and knee deep in graduate school applications. The Kentucky native hopes to attend the University of Kentucky, her twin brother John currently is there, for physical therapy school next fall. Family and community services play a large role in her desire to stay in the bluegrass state and the reason why Filiatreau is so eager to secure her plans to help the Red Cross in the Louisville community. Shortly after her return from the two week training session in

Washington, D.C., Filiatreau attended the annual meeting for the Red Cross Kentucky Region. There she met with other board members and established a relationship with donor recruitment representatives who will assist in all aspects of her blood collection activities on Georgetown's campus. With big dreams to succeed as an American Red Cross ambassador, Filiatreau is already back on campus planning for the year.

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The NAIA will track Gentry and Filiatreau's success in the American Red Cross program during the 2008-09 campaign. These student-athletes are wonderful representatives of the American Red Cross program and are two examples of the great work going on throughout the country to save lives. To learn more about the American Red Cross/NAIA Youth Leadership Program visit www.naia.org. The 2009-10 student-athlete class will be announced in late November.

Learn more about the American Red Cross/NAIA Youth Leadership Program >> Click here

If a NAIA member is interested in participating in the 2009-2010 program please email Staci Schottman at sschottman@naia.org