Eastern Hancock High School students, Luke Schilling and Eli Manship presented a certificate and check to Will Hall, Ivy Tech Community College with funds they helped raise through the PASS program.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Officials with Eastern Hancock High School (EHHS) place a strong emphasis on student athletes giving back to the community in various ways. The leadership there feels the idea to live out the value of leadership that serves along with competitive greatness makes for a well-rounded student athlete.
Recently some of the student athletes at EHHS who are part of a program called Players Assisting in Selfless Service (PASS) did some selfless deeds which included handing over funding to one of the many programs they support.
Royals head basketball coach Brett Bechtel noted the PASS program is something they’ve done for the past several years to help student athletes learn about leadership and service.
“We want to make sure these are not just things for the adults and coaches in our programs, but for our students athletes as well,” Bechtel said. “This is more than going through life lessons in athletics as we’re wanting our kids to be better citizens, better fathers, better husbands and better neighbors, and by serving other people they can get that kind of experience.”
The PASS program was created by Cam Wise, an Eastern Hancock basketball Alumni, as a way for the EH Basketball program to give back to the community. The Pass program finds local businesses to sponsor non-profit organizations located throughout the community, and then donates money to them at a home game for the Royals Boys Basketball Team.
Student athletes basketball players, junior Luke Schilling and sophomore Eli Manship, are projected to raise over $2,000 this year, which they say will help 10 different beneficiaries including the Ivy Tech Community College – Anderson campus. The two student athletes recently presented officials there a check with the money they raised.
“I am really enjoying being a part in this program,” Eli said. “Luke and I have been working really hard, and it’s been really rewarding to know how many people we are helping in our community and our school.”
Ivy Tech Community College offers dual-credit programs for high school students throughout the county, Eastern Hancock Community Liaison official Libby Manship said. She noted from 2022 to 2023, they doubled the number of students from EHHS who were receiving dual credit – both in terms of number of students and the number of credits earned.
“The total savings on college tuition for those students is roughly $181,000 and county-wide the savings is more than $700,000,” Manship said.
Additionally, she noted they are on pace to exceed the number of students enrolled for the 2023-24 school year, so the number of students, credits earned and tuition saved will be at least that amount.
Libby Manship noted it’s great to see the students athletes, including her son Eli, understand the importance of these types of community relationships.
“It is so core to the values of EHHS, clearly making a difference, and I get excited when any organization makes their mission statements actions and not just words on a wall,” she said.
Officials with the PASS program noted over the last several years student athletes raised around $15,000 for over 25 different organizations. In the program, one or two of the student athletes on the boys basketball team each year are responsible for selecting sponsors who will donate to non-profit causes which better serve the community.
“This is a great real-life experience for our kids to reach out and help programs that need some assistance,” Bechtel said. “We talk about it, but until the kids get involved it’s hard for them to understand what all it takes to organize and be a part of something like this.”
Another example of the service emphasis in action with the PASS program happened when senior point guard Luke Morris took time to serve in the district’s essential skills classroom, where he formed an exceptional bond with the students there. As a result of the interaction with the students, Luke has now chosen essential skills education as his career path.
Still another example of the student athlete led PASS program effort surrounds Brooklyn Willis from the EHHS volleyball and basketball teams. She was part of a group who raised funds for Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital this fall and donated toys. Senior baseball player Chase Stewart serves regularly at Changing Footprints, and the entire EHHS football team partnered with Mt. Comfort Church to pack meals for international missions.
“I think the feeling of fulfillment the kids get when you’re able to help somebody and you can see that it really does help is something you can talk about, but until you really do it and get involved and feel it, you don’t know what it’s like and that’s the type of experience we’re trying to create for our student athletes with this program,” Bechtel said.
