by Paige Turner
Vanderbilt University was recently awarded the 2020 Community Service Award by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and the Fiesta Bowl for its Dancing Dores program and Dance Marathon. Both programs raise funds for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
The award was designed to recognize NACDA member institutions in Division I, honoring exceptional athletic departments that make volunteerism and community service a way of life.
The Dancing Dores program, made up of student-athletes participating in Vanderbilt University Dance Marathon, enables teammates to build relationships with local children and families served at Children’s Hospital, all while fundraising on their behalf.
VU senior captain Andre Mintze created the initiative in 2018 to get more student-athletes involved in the Dance Marathon program that has been raising funds and awareness for Children’s Hospital for more than 19 years.
In addition to this award, another VU athlete has received national recognition for support of Children’s Hospital. Former football student-athlete Cody Markel has been named the 2020 SEC Brad Davis Community Service Leader of the Year.
Markel, a recent graduate, created the Turner’s Heroes initiative, dedicated to the memory of his Vanderbilt classmate and fellow tight end Turner Cockrell, who died in 2018 from melano-ma. Proceeds raised from Turner’s Heroes funded a discovery grant for pediatric cancer research at Children’s Hospital.
“I am very proud of our student-athletes for this well-earned honor, and the recognition is especially deserving when you consider the many lives they have impacted in such a positive way while partnering with Vanderbilt University Dance Marathon and Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt,” said Candice Storey Lee, Vanderbilt University Vice Chancellor of Athletics and University Affairs and Athletic Director.