Aug. 11, 2005

CHICAGO - Loyola University Chicago student-athletes Blake Schilb and Inshirah Grimes, along with their fellow Horizon League Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members volunteered their time on July 26 at the Kaleidoscope Youth Center's Summer Day Camp in Indianapolis. The community service project was part of the SAAC summer meeting held annually in Indianapolis.

Kaleidoscope Church and Community Partnership Youth Center is a community-based organization that has delivered services to more than 1,500 youth, ages 7-16, who are affected by poverty, lack of supervision, limited parental involvement and violence. During the last decade, the program enrollment has tripled and 90 percent of the participants attend the camp on a daily basis. Student-athletes worked with participants from three different age groups in various activities.

This summer, the children of Kaleidoscope have been putting their efforts into raising money to attend a local recreation center. They are meeting their goal by selling snow cones outside of the youth center in order to fund their trip. Schilb, a member of the Loyola men's basketball team, and Grimes, a member of the Loyola track and field squad, joined in by making signs and encouraging locals to purchase snow cones.

"These kids aspire to be competitors," said Robert Nunley, Kaleidoscope's Executive Director said. "This is the perfect opportunity for our kids to find that connection between school and sports. It opens their eyes to new opportunities."