Lacrosse Players Help PBHA With Food Salvage

The Harvard men's lacrosse team recently started performing community service through the Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) Food Salvage program, PBHA members said.

According to Food Salvage Committee co-chair David J. Willbrand '92, between two and six lacrosse team members help every day for approximately two hours. The athletes collect cooked food from college dining halls and bring it to homeless shelters, Willbrand said.

According to Willbrand, the players were encouraged to do community service by Scott H. Anderson, the lacrosse coach. Willbrand added that Anderson came once to watch the program in action.

"The players are pysched and willing to help. They are as good as our other volunteers," Willbrand said.

Jennifer F. Mayher '93, another co-chair of the PBHA committee, said that a recent incident in an Arizona hotel may have initially had some connection to the team members' decision to volunteer. During spring break, the team was kicked out of the hotel for rowdiness. At the time, hotel reports cited noise, alcohol and vomit as reasons for the ejection.

Whatever the initial impetus, Mayher said, the players are "really enthusiastic about it now."

"It took a little warming up," Mayher said. "They were hesitant at first, but then they started getting something out of it."

Lawrence M. Rhein '92, vice president of PBHA, agreed with Mayher, saying, "If we suspected that their motives were not good, we would not have allowed them to do this."

According to lacrosse team co-captain Daniel P. O'Sullivan '91, every team member has signed up to volunteer on a certain night. "Everyone's involved and it works out pretty well," he said.

Daniel J. Chepaitis '91, another lacrosse player, said that there was no relation between the hotel incident and the community service. "This is not a punishment," he said.

O'Sullivan added that this volunteer service was not a first for the team. While the team had tapered off its tradition of community service in the last few years, it had conducted similar activities in the past, he said.

Rhein said he believes that Anderson may have encouraged his team to engage in public service because "he wants to build the character of the team and add a new dimension to their experience here."

Mayher said that she hoped that other teams would follow this trend of volunteering. "I really hope that this will become a regular thing," she said.

Anderson declined to comment about the team's community service at the Food Salvage