|
OU Women's Soccer Team Paint Dalmatians for
the McCarty Center
How do Dalmatians
get their spots? In the case of the 101 Dalmatian
Christmas decorations being created by the J.
D. McCarty Center in Norman, they get painted
on by the University of Oklahoma's Women's Soccer
Team.
Eighteen members of the 2007 Sooner soccer team
answered the call for volunteers. "We're
in the process of developing a 101 Dalmatian
Christmas scene," explained Beverly Jennings,
the McCarty Center's Conference Center Director.
"We're cutting out a few each year from
plywood until we have our 101. The soccer team
helped us out by painting the first group of
50 Dalmatians. We hope to have them back next
year to paint the next group," Jennings
added.
"I look for ways for our team to build
a sense of community that goes beyond the university
and the soccer field," said associate head
soccer coach Christian Michner. "This project
was something that the girls were excited about
doing and it was fun for them. The McCarty Center
got a project completed and the girls had a
constructive diversion from their daily routine
as student-athletes," Michner added.
University of Oklahoma student-athlete volunteers
are not uncommon at the McCarty Center. According
to Greg Gaston, director of marketing for the
McCarty Center, the OU women's basketball team
and a member of the OU volleyball team have
volunteered at the hospital in the recent past.
"The McCarty Center has always enjoyed
good volunteer support from OU students,"
said Gaston.
The J. D. McCarty Center is Oklahoma's center
of excellence in the care and treatment of children
with developmental disabilities from birth to
age 21. Founded in 1946, the hospital treated
only one diagnosis…cerebral palsy. Today
the McCarty Center has treated more than 70
different diagnoses in the developmental disability
category. In an average year, the McCarty Center
will see children from 70 of Oklahoma's 77 counties.
 |
Eighteen members of the
University of Oklahoma women's soccer team
display the finished product from their
volunteer project for the J. D. McCarty
Center. The soccer team painted 50 of what
will eventually be 101 Dalmatians for a
Christmas scene at the hospital. The McCarty
Center is a pediatric rehab hospital for
children with developmental disabilities
in Norman.
|
|
|
