Shooting Hoops, and Moving A Quarter Million Meals
Editor, Greater Park Hill News
In between jump shots and studying, over the past year the men’s basketball team at Johnson & Wales University moved the equivalent of 250,000 meals for families in need for the Food Bank of the Rockies.
This year, as part of a commitment to give back to the community, the team, under the guidance of Head Coach Quintin Grogan, will continue to seek wins, both on and off the court. This year the team has opted to donate the hours they volunteer at the Food Bank of the Rockies to Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. That means that for every three hours of work they put in, the Greater Park Hill Food Pantry will receive the equivalent of 20 pounds of food to distribute to people in the neighborhood.
In addition, the team plans to donate time this year to Project Angel Heart, preparing and delivering meals to adults and children coping with life-threatening illnesses in the Denver metro area. And, Grogan says, the team will also continue its work from last year, volunteering with Colorado Special Olympics.
“We’re so blessed to be doing what we do,” says Grogan, who is entering his second year as head coach at the private university at the eastern edge of Park Hill. “The guys are in school, and also traveling across the country getting to see a whole new experience that some other students don’t get the opportunity to experience. They have a lot of appreciation seeing smiles on peoples’ faces and being able to experience the happiness they get from sharing and their commitment to service.”
The basketball team is comprised of young men majoring in sports entertainment and event management, criminal justice, communications, business administration and culinary arts. The year’s team includes Andrew Bonner, Damon Bates, Tony Baldocchi, Micheal Mitchell, Bryson Sharpley, Xzavier Tucker, Lucas Dennerline, Philip McNiff, Tyler Wright, Isiah Mendoza-Forsyth, Gage Kroll, Warren Wright and Preston Rayburn. Nate Rohnert serves as assistant coach.
Last year at Food Bank of the Rockies, the team members pulled and built orders of food from the warehouse inventory — lifting 10 to 30 pound cases of food items and then organizing and packaging them to be sent out.
“I view it as a team-building exercise, to bring about brotherhood and a family atmosphere,” Grogan says.