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Marlins Make a Difference
From volunteering to fundraising, giving back to the community has always been a Wesleyan tradition
University News | December 12, 2025
’Tis the season for giving—and as Kahlil Gibran famously noted, “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” Supporting the community that gives so much to the University has long been a way of life for Virginia Wesleyan Marlins, who continue to give back in countless meaningful ways.
Under the stellar leadership of Head Coach Brandon Elliott, Virginia Wesleyan Softball ranks among the top programs in the national StrikeOut Cancer campaign. In 2024–2025, members of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association raised nearly $333,000 in support of the Association and its StrikeOut Cancer initiative. VWU’s 15th annual StrikeOut Cancer fundraiser—spearheaded by Elliott—was the top fundraiser across all NCAA Division III programs, marking the ninth time the team has led the division. Held in conjunction with a doubleheader against Shenandoah University, the event raised $94,412 in honor of Elliott’s late mother, Elaine Sears, with all proceeds benefiting the American Cancer Society. This year’s family-friendly event included a $5 admission, face painting, a silent auction featuring more than 80 items, bounce houses, music, concessions, and balloon animals. Since 2009, VWU has raised nearly $350,000 for the American Cancer Society.
VWU Athletics continues its tradition of service as teams participate annually in the ODAC conference-wide canned food drive. This longstanding initiative, led by Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC) across member schools, sparks friendly intra-conference competition while highlighting each athletic department’s commitment to supporting local communities.
Virginia Wesleyan has also recently contributed to the 13th Annual Alumni Charity Challenge, a collaborative effort among colleges and universities across Central Virginia to support Feed More and fight hunger. Now the second-largest event benefiting the Central Virginia Food Bank, the Challenge has helped collect more than 1 million pounds of food—providing hope and nourishment to neighbors in need across 34 cities and counties.
VWU’s Wesleyan Engaged strives to increase student engagement and volunteerism, cultivate leaders, and ensure a sustainable bond between VWU students and people and organizations throughout the region. The office works with many service-learning partners to provide community service as well as engagement opportunities for students. Activities such as blood drives on campus to support the American Red Cross, maintaining the community garden at Good Samaritan Episcopal Church, oyster gardening at Little Creek Marina, and partnering with Girls on the Run to provide support for their annual 5K event on campus, are just a few ways that Marlins give back. In Fall 2025 VWU was named an honoree of The Civic 50 Hampton Roads by VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads and Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service.
Community engagement and service are frequently woven into coursework at Virginia Wesleyan University, intentionally embedded throughout the curriculum. This semester, students in Professor of Media and Communication Lisa Lyon Payne’s public relations course dedicated their time and talent to a meaningful project, functioning as a simulated communications agency for their class client, Hampton Roads Girls on the Run. The students addressed a real-world communications challenge and developed a campaign that significantly increased awareness of the organization on campus—an impressive achievement for one of VWU’s valued community partners.
Students in Professor of Sport and Recreation Professions Jill Sturt’s REC 207 class also made a remarkable impact. Through their class project, they raised $3,025.75 for ForKids, a local nonprofit supporting families experiencing homelessness.
Virginia Wesleyan University faculty, staff, and students joined community volunteers last month for a large-scale tree-planting effort in Portsmouth as part of the "Cool Down P-Town" initiative. Over two days, VWU volunteers planted more than 70 native trees and 35 native shrubs at Columbia Park and the Neighborhood Facility Recreation Center—and also distributed additional plants to local residents. The event marked the latest phase of VWU’s $222,000 grant, “Community-Based Urban Heat Island Mitigation in Portsmouth, VA,” funded by the Virginia Department of Forestry's Urban and Community Forestry program. The multi-year project aims to reduce extreme heat in vulnerable neighborhoods by mapping urban heat islands, identifying high-risk communities with GIS analysis, collaborating with residents to design solutions, and ultimately planting roughly 500 native trees and shrubs across the city.
In December, Marlins supported a campus-wide toy drive in partnership with Z104’s Stuff the Bus campaign for Toys for Tots. Donation boxes were located throughout campus for anyone wishing to donate new, unwrapped toys for children in the local area. On December 5, members of the campus community gathered near Town Center to stuff the bus, contributing to the community effort to ensure that every child has a gift under the tree this year.
Every season brings a reason for giving—and an opportunity to support those in need. Time and again, Marlins rise to the occasion, strengthening the communities they call home through compassion, service, and steadfast generosity.