Intercollegiate skating is a great way to get involved and give back to your community. Many teams take part in volunteer initiatives throughout their season. As a member of the NYU Figure Skating Team, I've been involved in a lot of unique volunteer initiatives. Here are a few ideas from our team as well as from fellow intercollegiate skaters.  

New York University 

Coronavirus hit New York City hard this past March. As a team, we raised money for Perfect Picnic, an organization that donated meals to front line workers. The money that we raised funded meals for doctors and nurses at NYU Langone Medical Center. 

Over the summer, we raised money for Figure Skating in Harlem and the NAACP in a student-led initiative. Since no one was skating due to quarantine, we encouraged skaters to donate money to the fundraiser that they normally might have spent on a few sessions of skating. 

We are also currently working on a long-term partnership with Figure Skating in Harlem (FSH), a "skating enriched education program" that works with girls to not only teach them how to skate, but to help them thrive in their academic and social lives and develop the necessary skills to succeed in life. Since we can't meet in-person, NYU figure skaters have been meeting with FSH girls online and holding events like speed networking and forming mentorship programs to answer any questions that FSH girls may have about college, skating in college or anything else. We hope to be able to skate with them soon, and plan to host mini "competitions" and other fun events!

Penn State University 

The Penn State Figure Skating team are active volunteers in an annual program called Penn State Athletes Take Action (PSATA). Through PSATA, skaters from Penn State University are trained in areas of teen bullying, sexual harassment and healthy relationships. They then have the opportunity to speak at local middle schools and host workshops with the students to assist with anti-bullying initiatives. 

University of Delaware 

This past year, the University of Delaware Figure Skating Team raised money for the No Limits Foundation, a nonprofit organization that hosts camps for kids with limb losses and differences. Their fundraising enabled a little boy to be able to attend this camp for the first time! Along with fundraising for the No Limits Foundation, the University of Delaware skaters host an annual Girl Scouts fundraiser, where Girl Scouts in Delaware have the opportunity to learn to skate with instruction from the team's skaters.

This summer, with the help of the University of Delaware Synchronized Skating Team, they raised money for Figure Skating in Harlem in an initiative that combined their support for the Black Lives Matter movement with the sport they love. 

University of Delaware figure skaters also participate in UDance, a university-wide fundraising initiative for the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation. The B+ Foundation provides financial support to families of children with cancer. 

Volunteering as a team is an awesome bonding experience and, more importantly, a wonderful way to make a difference in your college community. These are just some of the many volunteer initiatives collegiate teams have used to give back to the community. If you're interested in learning more, reach out to your prospective teams to hear about what they do to give back!

Iris Zhao is a 2020-21 Collegiate Ambassador and member of the NYU Figure Skating Team.