The reason why the trip to Africa reinforced my decision to come to Drake

Hello, my name is Denzel Ray, second year wide receiver and first time blogger. As I reflect on the purpose of why I choose Drake University as the school to educate me on life, this trip to Tanzania just stabilizes my thoughts of this being a great college decision. I originally choose Drake because I could get a good degree at a credible university while still playing the game I love. Traveling to a place I have never been before will certainly expand my knowledge on not only the subject of Africa and all its affairs but also life itself. Add on top of that I get to play the game I love makes the deal even sweeter. I shudder to think what life would be if I had went somewhere else.

Until next time, cheers!
Denzel Ray THE #83

Africa:an experience of a lifetime

This is #30 Pat Cashmore and I'm writing my first blog. The trip to Africa is going to be a lot of things to a lot of people but I think this trip will provide a life-changing experience that as college students we will never forget. Drake and our sponsors are providing an opportunity for us as 18-22 year old men to explore a new continent and experience new surroundings. I have been fortunate enough to travel to China, and it was an awesome time! I had stepped out of my comfort zone, and learned about a new culture, which help me develop as a person. The trip opened my eyes to how big this world is, and how different everyone is. I'm ecstatic that we will be in Moshi, Tanzania! It has always been a goal of mine to travel to Africa, and now I get to do that with some of my best friends! One of the best things about the trip is that we will be doing work for an orphanage house, and also putting on football clinics for the city of Moshi. Many football players have said that this is what they are looking forward to most.
We hope all of the children in Moshi are at the football clinics because I know my teammates will provide the most fun that these kids have ever had. I know seeing the people in Moshi, and seeing the kids in the orphanage, will bring a life-changing event to our team. At times we take for granted: clean water, food, shelter, and I anticipate that this trip will be eye opening for my teammates and I. Then we will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, and I have to admit that I’m a little nervous. I don’t know how the altitude will affect everyone, and that is kind of scary, but when it is all said and done I will be able to say that I have climbed it.
It will be awesome seeing this huge mountain, and enjoying the scenery at different elevations. The trip will fly by because of how much fun we will have, but I hope to cherish each and every moment when I’m there. This trip will have an impact on our life that we will never forget and I’m so fortunate to be a part of it.

Thanks for reading! I will have another post soon!
Pat Cashmore

Impact Men

         A huge part of our success, and really the core values of our team lie in the impact we are trying to leave on our school, our community, and with the upcoming trip to Africa, the world. “Impact men” is what it says at the top of our list of goals for our program. To be an impact man is to serve the community selflessly, to bring a positive influence into the lives of those involved with our program, and to carry that positive influence into the outreach actions we participate in. A large part of our impact men goals involve community service. Throughout our year we make time to visit local grade schools to interact with and read to the kids in the Des Moines schools. We make weekly visits to the Blank Children's Hospital when our winter conditioning and spring ball seasons begin. Our players are actively involved in youth daycares and outreach programs such as the Wilky House and Boys and Girls clubs in Des Moines. We spend weekends helping veterans from both current and past wars at the veteran’s hospital, and have made time to interact with the families and children of deployed soldiers. Most recently we competed with other Drake teams and amongst ourselves in the assembly of some 51,000 meals for the “meals from the heartland.”

         What does being impact men do for our team? The community, especially the interaction with all the kids has attracted the family atmosphere to our games and our school. The service brings us, as a team, closer together when we interact with one another in an environment that is different than the social and competitive nature that make up much of the football practices and college grind. The community service exposes the world to us in a different life and this experience is better prepared for the world outside of school. The community action has given us opportunities and initiative to take action, like the upcoming trip to Africa. From the football camps that we are going to carry with us from the U.S. to Tanzania, to the strength and commitment it will take to build and work for the people over there we are going to graduate from local impact to global impact.

- Eugene “EJ” Walter 97

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

Mohandas Gandhi

January Update

The team has entered the second week of winter workouts! Coach Wilcox is doing an excellent job of putting everyone to the test so we can be in the best possible shape for our game in Africa and for the upcoming season. I had shoulder surgery 7 weeks ago and Coach Wilcox still finds things for myself and other injured players to do during our intense workouts. The fifth year seniors and players in their final year of eligibility are sitting down with Coach Creighton to discuss leadership, off-season goals, a theme for the season and season goals. Spring ball is right around the corner and everyone knows that the summer flies by so the season, all though it seems far away, will be here before we know it and we will welcome the new members of our Drake Football family and compete for a PFL Championship. In other news, fund raising is going extremely well. We have made great strides and raised a lot of money with our Lift-a-thon! Players are getting more excited for the trip as it draws closer but are still driven by the idea of winning our first PFL Championship since 2004. The offseason is shaping up to be a great one and everyone on the team will continue to give our absolute best for eachother and the Bulldog faithful!

-Jim

The Work Being Done

Thanks to all of those who showed their support for our cause and helped contribute to the raising of money over this past holiday season. Our lift-a-thon was a huge success. With numerous personal records being smashed and a little over $100,000 being raised we are well on our way to Africa.

An update on the progress of our trip:

Adding the $104,000 from our lift-a-thon to the previous collection of nearly $70,000 we are closing in on our minimum total for the trip. 

A documentary on our trip has been pitched and is being finalized with the discovery channel to be aired in both the United States and Mexico.

We have had a few hundred footballs donated for the children's camp.

We have the BCS championship head referee coming to Africa to officiate our game.

There is talks of a full, $500,000 turf field being put in in the shadow of Mt. Killimanjaro for the game and to leave a gift for the people of Tanzania.

We have found out our duties for our community service project, including building a girls wing to the orphanage for which money is being raised.

Our team:

After returning to Des Moines things felt eerily different. Some faces were gone, some amazingly talented players graduated or were ready to close their football careers and move on to the rest of their lives. Some amongst us are in new positions, in slings, or have been plagued with ailments like influenza and pnemonia. Many of us are bigger from the winter lifting program and holiday feasting. But when my alarm clock rolled to 5:20 this morning I, like many others, was awake and ready for today. The beginning of the off season workouts. 6:00 a.m. our football family began a challenging and exciting workout to prepare ourselves for the spring football season, the Killi-Bowl, and foremost our upcoming season. Through a gruelling physical test of endurance and strength we competed and challenged one another not just to be better to be our absolute best. And our team rose to beat this mountain just as we intend to climb all others (both metaphorical and literal). Our senior leadership has begun to take their newer roles as the future captains and leaders. The thrill of competition drove feats of strength that showed the true metal of many, both young and old, to our program. We welcomed new members to our football family in the coaching staff and on the roster. The excitement for what lies before this team is manifesting and building into something great and powerful and we thank those who made it possible for all of this to happen because it is truly amazing to be a part of.

-EJ Walter -97-

"Don't look for a reason to quit, look for a reason to finish."