NK boys basketball feels the giving spirit

Published 10:30 am Thursday, December 23, 2010

The North Kitsap High boys basketball team took time off from the court Monday to help out at North Kitsap Fishline, marking two-firsts for NK boys basketball.

The team was the first NK boys basketball team to donate time, working at the food donation bank, as it completed its first community service.

Though a lot of people can be a hinderance at Fishline, it was welcomed with the work left to do before the holidays, said Fishline Operations Manager Garvin Tootle.

“This really does help out, absolutely,” Tootle said.

The team arrived in two groups, each worked for about an hour in the morning. The work included everything from breaking boxes and stocking shelves to portioning food and ingredients for the holiday gift baskets.

It was the first time many of the students had set foot in the food bank.

“None of us really knew about Fishline before this,” said senior Andrew Urquhart. “It’s really going to reflect well on the team.”

Urquhart’s mom volunteers at Fishline a few days a week and after this, he said he may start doing the same, he said.

The volunteer work done on Monday was a supplement to the food drive the team hosted during the Dec. 10 game against Port Townsend.

The drive brought in about 75 pounds of food, which added to a total not yet talllied.

Last year, the food bank passed out 1,001 pounds of food, said Tootle.

Other North Kitsap teams, such as the girls soccer team, do annual food drives during the fall sports season.

Piecing together the holiday baskets was an added benefit of having the team there, said Volunteer Holiday Coordinator Kathy Smith.

The baskets became available on Tuesday and the work left to finish them was a big order for the volunteers.

“If it weren’t for the team, I would have been the one doing it,” Smith said.

The idea came from one of the player’s moms, Traci Lemmon, after head coach Tony Chisholm expressed an interest in finding volunteer work for the team. Along with the work, Lemmon said the experience helped them understand what goes into donating to the community.

“This is our way of giving back and it is the perfect time of year to do it,” Chishold said.