University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Collects Water Bottles for Boys and Girls Club of Athens
September 21, 2020 | Women's Basketball
ATHENS, Ga. — The University of Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team collected close to 150 water bottles from fans and supporters to donate to the Boys and Girls Club of Athens.
Head coach Joni Taylor, along with several student-athletes, issued a challenge on social media, asking supporters to drop off new, re-fillable water bottles at Stegeman Coliseum Monday morning. The community responded in a big way, with over 80 bottles collected in the first two hours alone.
"We were absolutely blown away by the turnout this morning," Taylor said. "COVID-19 has affected all of our lives in so many ways. For the Boys and Girls Club, COVID protocols eliminated the use of water fountains, so the organization needed new, re-fillable water bottles. When our ladies found out about this, they immediately wanted to help. I could not be more proud of their efforts and the efforts of all those who came by today. It's another step forward in making a meaningful impact in our community."
The Georgia Lady Bulldogs take part in several community service initiatives each year. In addition to today's water bottle drive, members of the team have been a leading voice in the athletic department's #DawgsToThePolls initiative to increase voter registration among student-athletes.
Taylor also started the Beyond Basketball program in her first year as head coach back in 2015. Since then, the organization has served as a meeting place for women in the Athens area. The team also adopted the fifth grade class of Stroud Elementary School and hosts the annual Bike Build each December.
For more information on the Lady Bulldogs, follow the team on Twitter (@UGA_WBB), Instagram (@uga_wbb) and Facebook (Georgia Women's Basketball).
###