August 17, 2014

Community Service Highlights Sunday’s Camp

Junior wide receiver Seth Conway helps pick out a pair of shoes during back to school shopping Sunday.

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas football opened Sunday’s fall camp activities focused on giving back to others in the Lawrence community. A group of Jayhawks trekked to Walmart, along with former Kansas basketball great Wayne Simien, to assist some local residents in back-to-school shopping.

Simien coordinated with Family Promise, whose mission is to transform the lives of homeless children and their families by providing safe shelter, food, counseling, and training in partnership with local communities of faith through hospitality and daily living support in a compassionate setting. The Family Promise program is designed to address the needs of families and equip them to move into permanent housing as quickly as possible.

Family Promise matched each Jayhawk who participated on Sunday afternoon with a family whose children were in need of some back-to-school items. Together, the KU football players and children were able to shop around finding just the right things the kids needed for the 2014-15 school year. Simien also coordinated with Walmart, who picked up the tab for the shopping adventure.

The event was especially meaningful to KU senior DL Keon Stowers.

“I was in their exact same shoes for a part of my life,” said Stowers. “To have the opportunity to be able to give back in the very same way people assisted me and my family, was an amazing feeling. I can relate to everything these kids are feeling and I know us shopping with them put a big smile on their faces. I tried to make it fun and at the same time let them know that one day not too long ago I was in their position and now I am here playing the game I love at a great school where I am going to earn my degree. Even though times might be tough right now, they can see the possibilities through us.”

Following afternoon meetings and film study, the Jayhawks took the field for their first major scrimmage of fall camp. The team battled back-and-forth for approximately an hour inside Memorial Stadium with each player getting an opportunity to see the field and contribute.

KU KICKOFF AT CORINTH SQUARE
The ninth annual KU Kickoff at Corinth Square, sponsored by First National Bank, will be held on Friday, Aug. 22, beginning at 6 p.m.

Kansas Athletics and the KU Alumni Association will join forces to host the family-friendly event located at 83rd & Mission Road in Prairie Village, Kansas. KU football head coach Charlie Weis and women’s basketball head coach Bonnie Henrickson will each address the crowd at Corinth Square.

Also sponsored by Shawnee Mission Health, the KU Kickoff at Corinth Square will include food, drinks and KU giveaways as well as inflatable games for kids. The band Coversmith is scheduled to perform from 8-10 p.m. A limited number of coupons for Corinth Square vendors will be available for members of the KU Alumni Association and Williams Education Fund who show their membership cards.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Jayhawks will kick off the week on Monday when requested linebackers take their turn with the media. Wednesday, Aug. 20 Weis will sit down and introduce the 2014 team captains to the public.

To stay up to date during fall camp follow the Jayhawks online via 2014 Fall Camp Central and on Twitter @KU_Football.

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