FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 22, 2006

MSSU football squad plans community service project

Pledge Forms: Word Document or PDF Document

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Each member of the Missouri Southern State University football team, players and coaches alike, will be providing five hours of community service to the city of Joplin in one day next month.

On Friday, April 7, the Lions will volunteer their time to help set up exhibitor booths at the St. John's Life Fair at the John Q. Hammons Center in Joplin. Later in the day, the squad will take their turn in the rotation of all MSSU athletics teams in collecting trash and other debris along both sides of Fourth Street from Rangeline to Florida.

As part of the service project, the team is seeking monetary donations to help support the MSSU football budget and enhance academic opportunities for the student-athletes. All gifts are tax deductible. A pledge form is available at www.mssu.edu/athletics/football.

It will be the second large community service project in seven months for the Lions. The 2005 squad raised approximately $10,000 last September collecting donations from motorists at three intersections for hurricane relief after Hurricane Katrina decimated the gulf coast region.

The day following the exhibitor setup and trash pickup, the Lions will close out their spring football schedule with their final workout in full pads, featuring an intrasquad scrimmage at approximately 12:40 p.m.

MSSU's football team makes its debut under new head coach Bart Tatum on Sept. 2 when it hosts Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) in the season opener.