Story by: Danielle Lee

The University of Montevallo’s Exercise Science Club collected donations for Shelby Emergency Assistance this November.

The club usually does community outreach through workouts and swim programs, but COVID-19 has limited their in-person activites.

“Our club was a lot more community based and interaction based,” says Tara Whiddon, president of the Exercise Science Club.

Whiddon credits the club’s Service Chair for the idea to host a drive for Shelby Emergency Assistance.

“She wanted to keep it local, so she found Shelby Emergency Assistance… and she reached out to them seeing items that they needed… we actually were able to collect almost 200 items for them,” she says.

Shelby Emergency Assistance is a Montevallo-based organization whose mission is “helping people from crisis to self-sufficiency in Shelby County”. Visit their website for more information and ways to get involved.

Collection boxes were placed in every residence hall and in the Myrick Main Office, and flyers like this were placed around campus to promote the event.

In addition to community service, the Exercise Science Club usually holds several in-person events for university students, including Spikeball and volleyball tournaments.

The club has moved online this semester due to the pandemic, and they have hosted several workouts and two career days on Zoom.

Whiddon hopes the upcoming semester will see an increase in small, in-person activities within COVID-19 guidelines. She also plans to host another collection drive in the future.

“I know we want to do another food drive or toiletry drive. We want to do a bigger one so we’re able to collect more things and help out the community, especially with a lot of people still struggling during the pandemic,” she says.

For updates on future Exercise Science Club events, follow @montevalloesc on Instagram.