By Catherine Slonksnis
GoldenGrizzlies.com contributor

While students were home with family and friends over the holidays, the Oakland University Athletics Department gave back to the local community. Soon after classes resumed an event was held through the OUCARES program for those with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and for the 11th straight year, Oakland held a mitten toss. For its founder and associate swimming and diving head coach, Shawn Kornoelje, the mitten toss was born out of personal life-struggles growing up, and a desire to reach those in need.

Kornoelje has earned distinguished recognitions for his work with disabled athletes on multiple occasions over the years. The mitten toss, however, was an inspiration that was the result of experiences much closer to home. Money was scarce, and getting by on welfare while his mother finished her nursing degree meant Shawn and his brother shared each other's clothes, including mittens.

Watching a youth hockey game as a kid, Kornoelje remembered, if you were able to you bought a foam puck and tossed it onto the ice during intermission for charity causes. From his life growing up and that hockey game long ago, an idea was born when Shawn looked for an avenue for his team to become more strongly involved in the community.

What began in 2004 as a simple way to help out those in need within the community grew each year, a program Oakland's Athletics Department has strongly supported. Now it is an integral part of the university and has provided the swimming and diving program a way for student-athletes to not only become involved, but lead by example.

"We designate a couple student-athletes to take charge and organize this with (the) Athletics (Department)," Kornoelje said in an email. "I want this to create ownership and have them learn to develop and learn through this event."

Kornoelje's team recently held the ninth Annual Swimming and Diving Mitten Toss on January 15. The program, which distributes the mittens, gloves, and even hats to the Baldwin Center in Pontiac, recently reached approximately 800 items and has a goal that is no longer one-dimensional. The event has become a cornerstone for the team's community service events every year.

In addition to the mitten toss, the Golden Grizzlies swimming and diving teams run the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan Celebrity Wheelchair Basketball games held at Oakland. The department is also in its fourth year hosting the Water to Water Swimtacular, which helps bring awareness and funding for water wells in Africa.

The program is important for Oakland University President George H. Hynd who has encouraged work with Pontiac. By supporting the Baldwin Center in Pontiac through donations received at events, the mitten toss is an example of offering assistance to the city's residents and may open the door for a bright future to potential students. Oakland University continues to strive for new ways to engage in the surrounding communities.

One of those avenues includes the OUCARES program, which reaches out to families with autism. The core program, which began over 30 years ago, established an autism center in 2004 as a way to improve lives on a day-to-day basis. The OUCARES program is funded entirely on donations and hosts several programs a year to educate and encourage those in the community affected by the disease.

Recently, Oakland, who sponsored the Detroit Tigers 2015 Winter Caravan, hosted a basic baseball skills clinic that featured two Tigers players in attendance. In addition to Nick Castellanos and Joe Nathan (who conducted the lessons), student-athletes from nearly every athletic program were present, offering their support, which has become an integral part for the local community.

Reaching further, the Oakland University men's basketball team visited the Boys and Girls club for two consecutive days in late December. Despite the fact there was a holiday break in progress, all players were in attendance and several classes were held by every coach, which included shooting, defense, passing techniques, and footwork. The children were given free tickets to an Oakland game and the winners of each game played were given t-shirts by coach Greg Kampe.

As crucial as athletics are to Oakland, being actively involved in the community is equally so. The OUCARES program, influencing kids at the Boys and Girls club, and supporting the mitten toss offer ways to better connect with students on-campus, and the families who live in the surrounding area. Beyond that, these programs and events create an opportunity for Oakland to offer a better future for those who may not have seen college as an achievable goal.

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