Utah State Spirit Squad to Participate in Service Project

Utah State Univesity's Spirit Squad will travel to Salt Lake City Thursday, Aug. 3, to support the Utah State football team in the Aggies' season-opener against Utah. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium, but the Aggie Spirit Squad will be in action all day.

 

The group's day starts with an appearance on a morning news television show and then continues with its long-standing tradition of community service as members visit The Road Home of Utah, a shelter and support center located in Salt Lake City for those trying to overcome homelessness.

 

"I think it's important for our kids to have the opportunity to give back to the community,” USU Spirit Squad head coach Linda Zimmerman said. “I think they grow, learn and take more from it than the people that we do the service project for."

 

Zimmerman coordinates the squad's community service projects whenever it travels with an Aggie Athletic team, including traveling with the men's and women's basketball teams to the conference tournament every year, for roughly the last 20 years. Last March when the squad was in Reno, Nev., for the Western Athletic Conference Basketball Tournaments, it completed a service project at a Reno area orphanage.

 

"I think it's huge for them to give back,” Zimmerman said. “I think they have a great deal of talent in what they do and they enjoy doing it, but at the same time, it's great that they can help those less fortunate than they are."

 

In addition to its traveling service projects, the squad does community service projects at area elementary schools and different community centers throughout the year.

 

"The Spirit Squad has made it a tradition to participate in a service project each time it travels to various cities and states for athletic events," Tiffany Evans, USU director of student involvement and leadership said. "As they do this they are able to not only support our athletic programs but support the local community as well."

 

The Road Home, a private, non-profit social service agency, opened its doors in 1923 and provides support and shelter for overcoming homelessness. It offers a wide variety of programs that provide services to people in need. The Road Home is committed to providing people with basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter. More information is available at its Web site.