Panthers playing for a purpose

Illustration by Kamaal Samuel, Illustrator

Raising money to fund a wish. Donating blood stem cells or bone marrow to help save someone’s life. Uplifting a young cancer patient through the hardest days of treatment. 

These are not often the first things people think of when they hear about college sports. But across Chapman Athletics, philanthropy has become part of the culture — and a way for teams to use their platform for something bigger than themselves. 

Each year, Chapman Athletics honors one team with the Community Service Award. In 2025, the award went to the women’s lacrosse team. Psychology major and senior captain Ada Carr talked about why philanthropy is so important in the athletic community. 

“I think we have a platform that is a great opportunity to reach an audience,” Carr said. “We have a stage that we can use at games … to get people's attention, directed in something that's bigger than the game.”

Women’s lacrosse participates in multiple fundraising events throughout the year. During Carr’s time with the team, players have volunteered at shelters, dedicated games to breast cancer awareness and held events for organizations such as laCROSSe OUT CANCER and Morgan’s Message, among others. 

The team recently paired up with the men’s lacrosse team to raise money for Make-A-Wish Orange County, nearly reaching their goal of $10,000. Carr mentioned that Make-A-Wish recently sent an email updating her on the status of the donation she solicited, saying that it funded a child’s new gaming console.

“Make-A-Wish does a really good job of sending stuff like that, so you feel like you're making a difference,” Carr said.

Before this year, the last three Community Service Awards went to the football team. Football takes part in the National Marrow Donor Program, formerly known as Be The Match, which helps connect patients with donors for blood stem cell or bone marrow transplants.

Players are tested to determine whether they are a match for a patient in need. This year, junior business administration major Johnny Breen was selected as a match for a bone marrow transplant. Similar to Carr, Breen said the experience was meaningful because he could see the direct impact of his donation. 

“You really get to see the change that you cause,” Breen said. “A lot of organizations, you'll give them money, but you don't really know where it's going or what it's doing, or there's just a lot of blurred lines. With this, you're really getting to have that immediate impact.”

After finding out he was a match, Breen was shocked. He quickly decided it was a no-brainer to follow through and help someone in need. One year after his donation, Breen will be able to receive an update on how the transplant worked out. 

“I can't wait to get in touch with them and just hear and see if you know it worked, because I think it's a pretty magical thing,” Breen said. “It’s not every day you get to potentially save someone's life.”

Breen said that service is built into the culture of the team, and that players are fully bought in whenever they have an opportunity to help. 

Philanthropy can also shape the culture of a team. For Chapman baseball, it has made all the difference. Recently, the team celebrated the 10th anniversary of their first practice with Carter Ankeny. 

Carter was 5 years old and battling leukemia when he first started practicing with the Chapman baseball team in 2016. He was receiving treatment at the nearby Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) when he was partnered with the baseball team through Team IMPACT, an organization that matches children facing serious illnesses or disabilities with college sports programs as a support system. 

After arriving at CHOC in the mornings and going through four to eight hours of chemotherapy, Carter and his family would grab Rubio’s bean and cheese burritos, eat at the field and get ready to train with the team. He rarely missed a practice. 

Head coach Scott Laverty, who has been with the team for 13 years, said Carter’s impact on those around him was immediate. 

“The effect that it had on the players that actually got to be around Carter is the best thing I ever did for one of my teams,” Laverty said. “As a young person, they were still battling school and trying to succeed baseball-wise, and girlfriend troubles, and all this stuff. And then they look at Carter and go, ‘Man, he just did eight hours of chemotherapy, and now he's practicing. I've got it good.’”

Carter passed away at 6 years old on Oct. 7, 2017. 

Each year, the team honors Carter by raising money for pediatric cancer research. Carter’s family — his parents, Tim and Jamie, and his sister, Taylor — continues to support the team, often bringing pizza to practice. The family also raises money for pediatric cancer and leukemia research through their organization Carter Strong Forever. Carter’s story is passed down year after year, ensuring his legacy carries on. 

“Carter will always be our teammate,” Laverty said. 

Laverty talked about the joy Carter brought to practices and the humor he was able to keep in his hardest times. 

“It gave some real life perspective to the players that got to know Carter and be around him, and he was just such a joy. Everybody loved being around him, his sense of humor,” Laverty said. “When the chemo got so bad that his hair was pretty much all falling out, he just shaved it, and he said, ‘Okay, coach, I'm faster now.’”

Carter made an immense impact on those he met, something that is still felt to this day. Laverty said that although players today didn’t get to know Carter, they still feel the weight of his story. It reminds them that life is bigger than baseball — bigger than a strikeout, a bad pitch or an error — and that athletics can go beyond competition. 

That sentiment runs through each team’s philanthropic efforts. The ability to make a difference in someone’s life, especially those in need, is not something these athletes take for granted. Breen talked about what it meant to him to be able to help.

“Hearing how excited they are and how much it means to them for people to donate — it really is moving to hear from them,” Breen said. “And I know when I hopefully talk to the patient that I donated to, just being able to talk to them, experience their story … it's pretty special.”

Carr similarly mentioned the feeling of making an impact that reaches beyond the game.

“We like doing it because it makes us kind of remember why we're playing,” Carr said. “I've always found that dedication games are my favorite because it brings you down to earth a little bit. You're playing for something bigger than yourself.”

Sports are not only measured by wins and losses. Whether through giving back to the local community, fundraising for a good cause or making a difference in someone’s life, athletics can be an avenue for perspective and lasting impact. 

“We have an audience, and so to be able to do some things with it … people talk about the snowball, when little things start going bad, it all snowballs and turns into this big thing, right?” Laverty said. “Well, it can be the same way with positive things … let's be these little snowballs of positive effect.”