Leading up to the weekend, several WKU Athletics teams joined the 12th annual Stuff the Bus efforts that saw local radio personality Tony Rose fill five school buses with school supplies that will end up in classrooms across 10 local counties. WKU Football, Soccer, Volleyball, Men's Basketball and Women's Basketball all donated time and supplies, helping Stuff the Bus accumulate over 16 tons of supplies for the upcoming year. In total, more than 75,000 crayons, 800,000 sheets of paper, 50,000 pencils and 1,500 backpacks were donated. Rose was able to award two $1,000 Stuff the Bus scholarships thanks to the efforts and support of the community. Hilltoppers spent nearly 100 hours volunteering with Stuff the Bus.
On Tuesday, both the Hilltopper basketball and football teams took part in Camp Happy Days. In Diddle Arena on the hardwood, WKU student-athletes spent time with campers playing knockout, shooting around and even showing off some trick shots. Camp Happy Days is an opportunity for any individual ages 6-35 years old with an intellectual and/or physical disability to get out in the community and experience new things while making new friends.
Then on Wednesday, Hilltoppers with Heart switched gears again, spending more than 130 hours taking part in the United Way Day of Caring. Student-athletes, coaches and athletics staff hosted more than 500 new friends from numerous area summer camps on the South Lawn of the WKU campus. Across six hours of activities, volunteers from WKU Women's Basketball, Men's Basketball, Topperettes, Volleyball, All-Girl Cheer and Co-Ed Cheer were stationed at different activities including volleyball, soccer, football and cornhole boards.
Hilltoppers With Heart, sponsored by Passport Health Plan, was founded in 2011 and is designed to give WKU student-athletes, coaches and staff the unique opportunity to make an impact in the community by volunteering time and talent with numerous organizations including United Way, Boys and Girls Clubs, local schools and many more.
Passport Health Plan is a provider-sponsored, non-profit, community-based Medicaid health plan that has been contracted with Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Family Services to administer Medicaid benefits since 1997. Medicaid members can choose Passport to be their health care provider, and as of June 27, 2016, there are nearly 17,000 Passport members living in Region 4, which includes Warren County and the campus of Western Kentucky University.
