Community Outreach

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT POSITION STATEMENT

PNW offers intercollegiate athletic events as a means of partnership with the broader campus community, Northwest Indiana and beyond. Our student-athletes and coaches regularly give back in meaningful ways and are provided opportunities to be outstanding citizens, leaders, and contributors in the community. The objective of our community engagement is for our student-athletes, coaches and staff to build relationships that bring regional constituents to our Hammond and Westville campuses. Quite simply, we invite, gather and engage the PNW community to participate in our programs, competitions and success in a meaningful way.

PNW Athletics and the PNW chapter of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) are pleased to share that over 250 student-athletes are involved in community engagement activities including the R-Dub Club (a reading and writing program in local elementary schools), Make-a-Wish Foundation, Team Impact, Humane Society, Special Olympics and Northwest Indiana Food Bank. Additionally, in 2019-20 in which over 3,000 hours of community service was accumulated, PNW student-athletes gave back at Kids Day, the Hometown Heroes Celebration, Breast Cancer Awareness Week, and a number of various other charitable activities.

PNW Community Service: 2019-20 Year in Review

The men's soccer team took part in Team Impact, an organization that partners collegiate athletic programs with children facing serious and chronic illnesses. Through our two-year therapeutic program that complements their medical treatments, children develop relationships and skills that help them complete the full circle of healing.
The PNW Athletics teams, led by SAAC, encouraged the Pride community to donate toiletry items to the Sojourner Truth House -- a domestic violence shelter for women and children located in Gary, Indiana. SAAC representatives then delivered the donated items in person and volunteered a day at the shelter, helping with beautification in the area.
Student-athletes from various teams visited the Northwest Indiana Food Bank to assist in sorting pounds of nonperishable food drive items, packing food boxes for seniors and weekend meal bags for kids.
The PNW Softball team lead the Pride community in participating in Night To Shine -- an unforgettable prom night experience for individuals ages 14 and over with special needs. PNW students-athletes attended a local chapter of this event, volunteering in a range of activities that make the night an engaging experience.
SAAC led student-athletes in organizing a local Trunk-or-Treat event for community families. This event invited all to join the Pride in costume, where children visited decorated trunks and had the full Halloween experience.
Purdue Northwest hosted two kid’s day events during the basketball season in which all kids ages 0-18 were admitted free to the event which featured bouncy houses, face painting, coloring stations, poster autograph sessions by the home teams, and other child-friendly events before, during and after the two games.