Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/856195
6 COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT UIC student-athletes, coaches and staff take pride in having a positive impact on the community and perform thousands of hours of community service annually. During the past year, the Flames donated time to more than 25 worthwile causes, including: • Hospital visits • Blood drives • Community cleanup • Youth sport clinics and skill instruction • Special Olympics • Alzheimer's research and funding • Cancer awareness • Food drives • Chicagoland races CURTIS GRANDERSON WINS ROBERTO CLEMENTE AWARD UIC alum and New York Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson was named the winner of the 2016 Roberto Clemente Award. The prominent honor is annually bestowed upon the player who best represents the game of baseball through sportsmanship, community involvement and positive contributions, both on and off the field. Granderson's impact on the game of baseball, and the community at-large, is felt both near and far. His nonprofit organization, Grand Kids Foundation, promotes youth development through three critical areas: education, physical fitness and nutrition. Granderson annually hosts the Grand Kids All-Star Camp at the stadium that bears his name on UIC's campus. Curtis Granderson Stadium is not only the home of the UIC baseball program, but it also serves as a place to learn and play the game to countless youth sports teams and organizations in and around Chicago. Throughout the year, UIC Athletics took to the streets surrounding University Village to aid in the clean-up effort put on by the University Commons Neighborhood Association. Nearly 200 volunteers across three outings picked up trash and assisted with landscaping the streets surrounding UIC Athletics' facilities. Established in 2014, the UIC student-run organization Students Performing Acts of Random Kindness (SPARK) continued its mission of helping the homeless of Chicago. In addition to making monthly trips across the city to provide meals for those in need, SPARK made its biggest one-time donation after it donated over 1,000 new items of clothing to the Pacific Garden Mission.