Drug Free Sport’s Community Investment – Showing Up Where It Matters

From our employees using their athletic careers to benefit the lives of Midwestern youth, to financially investing in certified athletic trainers to receive continuing education, you can count on Drug Free Sport’s commitment to philanthropy in 2017 and the years to come.

Here are a few ways that Drug Free Sport has shown up over the past year:

 

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City:
Drug Free Sport has supported youth sports development in many capacities. Philosophically, we understand that many habits and traits are learned in childhood, which can lead to helping kids make good decisions in life. Additionally, several studies have shown that youth sports help young boys and girls develop leadership skills and confidence, which can translate into positive influence in the boardroom and beyond.

Drug Free Sport’s COO, Chris Guinty, sits on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City’s Board of Directors. Drug Free Sport has also sponsored a summer league T-ball team, tying into Major League Baseball’s RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities) initiative. Dane Jensen, Assistant Director of Collector Training and Development, served as a coach for the kids (pictured above).

Drug Free Sport Continuing Education Awards:
High school and collegiate certified athletic trainers are on the front lines of combating drug abuse and affirming proper drug/supplement education. We aim to validate and encourage their work by offering multiple $1,000 continuing education awards to qualified athletic trainers. In June, we provided two collegiate and one high school certified athletic trainers with these awards. A group of certified athletic trainers, a former award winner, Drug Free Sport staff members and the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation came together to review the impressive body of candidates. This year’s award applications will begin in late December, with selected applicants announced in Spring 2017. 

"Shortly after graduating with my master's degree, I became a Division II head athletic trainer at a university that had been competing in intercollegiate athletics for nearly one hundred years, and had never administered an institutionalized drug test. It became apparent to us that Drug Free Sport could help us not only administer proper drug testing, but would also help our university with the most important aspect, education for our student-athletes. The Drug Free Sport Continuing Education Award has helped our university become more diverse in how we can educate our student-athletes and how we can close the gap on preventing drug use in collegiate athletics. Drug testing is just one small piece of the puzzle that any company can help provide. But, the educational tools that Drug Free Sport provides our university stand above the rest and have gone a long way in how we educate and prevent drug use in our student-athletes. We are proud to partner with Drug Free Sport and are proud of the work that their entire team does to help impact our student-athletes." – Heath Duncan, 2016 Drug Free Sport Continuing Education Award Winner; Head Athletic Trainer, Alderson Broaddus University (pictured above)

Careers in Sports Panel:

Our team members will often help those aspiring to careers in sport business by speaking on their life experiences at local events . A unique opportunity was presented in September, when we were asked to speak on a panel with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith via the Team WallStreet organization.  The panel on careers in sports was a charity fundraiser for Kansas City-area youth. Vice President of Professional Sports Drug Testing, J.D. Matheus, addressed the crowd on his experiences as a student-athlete and matriculation into professional sports.

Westside (KC) Back-To-School Backpack/School Supplies Event:
Drug Free Sport headquarters lie on Kansas City’s Westside, a historic area rich in culture and development. Within the neighborhood, there is a frequent need for proper school supplies for children. Drug Free Sport continued its support of its neighborhood by donating to buy more than 30 padlocks for student lockers. Additionally, the team showed up to distribute backpacks and school supplies to kids of all school ages alongside members of the Kansas City, MO Police Department. “Working at the Westside Back-to-School event in the backpack room was very rewarding,” said Michael McCabe, Sport Drug Testing Program Manager. “The moments that brought the most joy were the looks of excitement on each kid’s face, knowing the work that we were doing would make it a little bit easier to head back to school.”

In all of our involvements, we often get as much (if not more) out of the experiences than the communities that we serve.

- Gene Willis, Director of Marketing

Employee Spotlight: Michaela Stemmons, MA, ATC – Senior Sport Drug Testing Program Manager

Our people are some of our best assets at Drug Free Sport, with a wide array of experience and professional certifications that are relevant to your work and our industry. We want to introduce you to the great people that we have, including their experiences inside and outside of our company walls. 

Michaela Stemmons is a 14-year member of Drug Free Sport and has touched most individual collegiate drug testing accounts over her tenure. She’s known for her positive, infectious energy. Recently, Michaela traveled more than 8,000 miles to Manila, Philippines, to do her part in making the world a better place. Here's a brief account of her experience:

Halfway across the world in a place that didn’t look, smell, or taste like my own neighborhood, I was reminded to “never doubt that a small group of highly committed and dedicated people can change the world.”  This has now become one of my most favorite life mantras.  Partially adapted from Margaret Mead, cultural anthropologist, this quote is the first to grab your attention in the international headquarters of Global Surge, the Christian ministry located in Metro Manila, Philippines. The quote (left) is an encouragement that I will remember often. 

In March 2016, I traveled with a small team of men and women from my hometown church in Parkville, MO.  We trained and prepared for a short-term mission trip that would change our lives forever.  For me, the opportunity gave me hope in the least likely places, allowed my peripheral vision of missions to expand and reminded me not to limit my faith.  I can’t wait to return. 

 While in the Philippines, we worked with multiple, diverse ministries under the larger umbrella of Global Surge: 

• We were there in the poorest neighborhoods to support Kidzjam, an outreach that taught the kids songs and Bible stories. 
• We supported one of many feeding centers, where the kids had to medically and financially qualify for assistance.
• We also attended a graduation of 800, of which 400 had completed their education at the Baptist Bible College Asia, preparing them for a life in ministry. 
• Additionally, we helped clean and prepare a new gym for Tough Guys International, run by trained martial arts black belts aimed to help troubled and at-risk youth. 
• On top of these, we supported two local churches started by Global Surge and several missionaries. 
• We did not make it to a Youth Jam camp event, but this evangelistic ministry may be the most impressive, considering they celebrated their one-millionth camper registration in February! Global Surge has grown tremendously in a short number of years, impacting thousands of lives.  

 

 

One of my most favorite opportunities was while helping to clean and prepare a new gym for Tough Guys International.  While I took a break outside, I met three young kids who were wandering the streets, asking for money.  Quickly, they figured out that I didn’t speak any Tagalog (a local language) and I figured out the young boy in the group knew some English.  We spent most of our time teaching each other songs and games such as rock-paper-scissors and naming body parts and articles of clothing.  We laughed a lot, but I was broken when I learned that there was not any food at home for these kids and likely, an absence of parents.  If they weren’t in school, they were helping drivers find parking spots to make money for food or begging for money.  Otherwise, they didn’t eat. 

Michaela (right) with her new friends.

Parts of this trip were very difficult, but in the poorest of places, there still seemed to be communities that were kind, supportive of one another, and looking for hope. There seemed to be brave kids who banded together and still laughed at silly things.  But, it was the Filipino missionaries who also gave me an opportunity to shift my thinking.  They greeted us by asking our names and our ministry.  This was most interesting, considering everyone I know asks about my job or asks about what neighborhood I live in, but not the missionaries.  They just wanted to know how I was planning to make a difference in the world.  So, I figure that I have some important work to do, which includes showing up in places that others won’t and encouraging others.  Overall, the message of Global Surge is clear.  It is to impact, inspire and influence. I don’t see any reason why I can’t do that in my own community.