Feb. 1, 2017
The Vanderbilt WBB team had a day off from practice on Tuesday, but the Commodores still put in some work. And they were glad to do it.
Showing their continued commitment to being involved in the community, the Commodores volunteered at the Hands On Nashville farm, harvesting vegetables for The Nashville Food Project.
“It was a lot of hard work, but we really enjoyed it,” said Vanderbilt freshman guard Kaleigh Clemons-Green. “For me, it was a totally new experience because I haven’t really been exposed to the organic side of life. But I was so glad that I was able to be apart of it. It took me out of my comfort zone — in a good way.”
Hands On Nashville is an organization that works to meet community needs through volunteerism. Annually, Hands On Nashville connects thousands of volunteers to support the needs of schools, nonprofits, community centers, libraries and more. As Middle Tennessee’s volunteer resource center, Hands On Nashville builds stronger communities through service.
The Vanderbilt WBB players did their part on Tuesday by helping winterize the farm, which included pulling up bermuda grass, making new walkways, and harvesting turnips and carrots.
“It was a great experience,” said senior guard Minta Spears, “and I have a new appreciation for the people of Hands on Nashville. It was awesome to see how what we helped with will go directly to people in the Nashville community through the Nashville Food Project.”
Spears said she recognized a correlation between farming and basketball.
“I spoke with Coach Peck after, and we were talking about how this experience is a lot like basketball,” she said. “There’s a lot of hard work that not many people see or hear about, but then we get to reap what we sowed when we play the games. This experience was a great analogy for basketball and really life in general.”
Visit HON.org for more information on Hands On Nashville.
