2 days ago
SEC Staff
Photo: SEC
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama- The SEC sponsors community service teams for all 21 league-sponsored sports. The Community Service Team seeks to highlight one athlete from each school who gives back to their community with superior service efforts. The 2023 SEC Gymnastics Community Service Team is as follows:
Sania Mitchell, graduate student, Alabama
Mitchell leads the gymnastics team during community service hours, racking up more than 35 hours this year. She volunteers with organizations such as We Care Family Practice Clinic, Skyland Elementary Day Care, RISE Center UA, and Habitat for Humanity. Mitchell also volunteers every Wednesday at the Tuscaloosa Soup Kitchen. She is a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and is currently pursuing graduate studies in Health Education Advocacy, where she maintained a 4.0 GPA. Mitchell also received Crimson Tide’s Lewis Each Courage Award for the 2022 season, which is the highest honor given to an Alabama gymnast.
Maddie Jones, sophomore, Arkansas
Jones is one of two gymnastics representatives on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which represents their fellow student-athletes and acts as a liaison with the University of Arkansas, Athletics Department, SEC and the NCAA. She has participated in the Tyson Food Truck event, Cartwheels for Dyslexia, craft kit making at NWA Children’s Hospital, the National Girls and Women in Sports Day Mini-Clinic, and Tribute to veterans. Jones is also participating in the second season of the Gymbacks Giveback campaign, in which athletes chose causes close to their hearts to raise funds. Coming from a military family, Jones advocates raising money for Bo’s Blessings, a northwest Arkansas organization dedicated to “providing programs, support and resources that help veterans return to a life with their families and community,” as well as Children’s Hospital of Northwest Arkansas.
Sophia Groth, second year, Auburn
Groth and his team have been active in the area of reading in several elementary and preschool schools throughout the school year for the past two years. Additionally, Groth and his teammates gave gymnastics demonstrations at area elementary schools, promoting the importance of an active lifestyle. She has also served on leadership committees in elementary schools. In addition to his service to local schools, Groth has been instrumental in local toy and food drives. She has participated in food drives to help feed other food-insecure students for the past two school years. Groth also led a major toy drive in the Auburn area, providing giveaways to the local Big House organization in December 2022. She has served on a Title IX panel as well as a gala that funds a local organization .
Chloi Clark, Junior, Florida
Clark has volunteered over 60 hours for community service events since the fall of 2022. She participated in a field day for Noah’s Endeavour. Clark packed and delivered shoes and socks through the Gator Tracks program, which distributed 400 shoes to Gainesville-area youth in December 2022. She was a frequent participant in the Lunch Buddies mentorship program at Terwilliger Elementary School , serving as a role model for the youth of Gainesville. Clark also visited Oak Hall School as part of Gators Read and helped launch Girls on the Run. She has contributed to numerous mental health-focused activities and is the chair of the 2022-23 UF Student-Athlete Advisory Committee on Mental Health. The recipient of the 2022 Gator Gymnastics Most Enhanced Honors, Clark was named to the 2021-22 Winter SEC Academic Honor Roll and the 2020-21 Freshman SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Haley de Jong, Senior, Georgia
As a senior leader of the Georgia GymDogs, de Jong went above and beyond in her duty to the UGA and Athens community. She was inducted into the Georgia Leadership Academy in 2021 and is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Over the past four years at the University of Georgia, Haley has taken advantage of numerous volunteer opportunities, including Special Olympics Gymnastics, Lydia’s Place, Athens Boys and Girls Club, the Back-to-School Event with Howard B. Stood Elementary School, and Operation Teammate.
Ashlyn LaClair, senior, Kentucky
LaClair has logged over 60 hours of community service in the Lexington area. She has volunteered for 14 different causes and organizations including: God’s Pantry, Amachi, Kentucky Children’s Hospital, Southland Christian Church, Girls on the Run, Leestown Middle School, Samaritans Christmas Child Operations, Meals on Wheels, the Roots and Heritage Parade , Paws 4 the Cause, KEDC – Kentucky Educational Development Corporation, American Red Cross, Christian Appalachian Project and Ronald McDonald House. A three-time member of the Winter SEC Academic Honor Roll, LaClair is a member of the UK Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). She is involved with local nonprofit I Am Second as well as Dam Worth It, a peer-led mental health awareness campaign. LaClair was named a Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) All-America Scholar-Athlete in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Sierra Ballard, Junior, LSU
Ballard is the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representative for LSU’s gymnastics team, where she also serves on the Special Events Committee. His responsibility on the committee is to help organize events on campus for all student-athletes. Ballard is heavily involved in community service efforts around gymnastics and throughout the Baton Rouge community. This year, she sold raffle tickets for the Dream Come True Foundation, made baskets for the Basket of Hope for patients and families of Notre-Dame du Lac and food banks in the region. Ballard has also participated in the Blue-Ribbon Soiree, an event that raises funds for prostate cancer research, the Thankful Tiger campaign, which donates school supplies for foster children, and to the Miracle Baseball League. She is heavily involved with Athletes for Hope, an organization that helps campus athletes with mental health issues as well as the community through service and advocacy.