The Muhlenberg softball team, coached by Ruth Gibbs, was selected as a recipient of this year’s Jostens/NADIIIAA Community Service Awards.

Jostens and the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA) co-sponsor this annual award, which honors the community service efforts of student-athletes among DIII schools. The three categories for this award include one-time projects, an array of projects and on-going projects.

The Mule softball team received honorable mention in the “array of projects” category and was presented with a certificate at last week’s NCAA convention. Muhlenberg was one of 18 schools, out of the more than 400 in Division III, honored in one of the three categories

Last year, the softball team spent a considerable amount of time and energy in fundraising efforts for teammate Tara DeMarzo, who was seriously injured in an auto accident. In conjunction with other teams, softball conducted several activities in March and April, including a raffle, softball contest, t-shirt sale and all-campus softball tournament, that raised $9,000 for the DeMarzo family to assist Tara in her recovery.

In October, the team helped raise money for the fight against breast cancer by running in the Women’s 5K Classic. The motto of the event is “Some races are for kicks, some are for glory; this race is for life.”

As it does annually, the softball team participated in the Christian Appalachian Project, in which it bought and wrapped Christmas gifts for needy families in the Appalachian area. Last year, the Mules adopted a family of two adults and three children as well as an elderly couple.

Softball also was one of several Muhlenberg women’s teams to welcome inner-city Allentown girls to campus for National Girls and Women in Sports Day in late February (pictured at right). The event gave the girls an opportunity to play sports to which they otherwise might not be exposed.

This spring, the Mules plan to add another community service project through its support of Give Kids the World, a nonprofit organization that seeks to fulfill the wishes of terminally ill children throughout the world.

“[Community service] is part of our program and something we enjoy doing,” said senior Katie Olson. “It feels really good to be honored, and I’m especially happy for Coach Gibbs. She works so hard at it, and it’s great for her to get the recognition.”