Orlando, Fla. - Knights Without Borders Orlando is a weeklong event, in which UCF's student-athletes are volunteering at various charities and organization across central Florida. The following is a blog documenting their expereinces throughout the week.
July 16th, 2016
Building a house, packing food for the needy and playing sports with children at the Orlando Rescue Mission are a few of the many things UCF student-athletes did during the first ever Knights Without Borders Orlando event.
On Saturday, the Knights wrapped up their week-long event of giving back to the Orlando community at Habitat for Humanity.
"As a staff we were excited to bring a week of service for UCF student-athletes and staff to give back to the Orlando community," said Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Welfare and Development Teresa Brown. "In the Office of Student-Athlete Welfare and Development, we are always looking to provide developmental experiences for our student-athletes and we look to build on this week and continue the tradition in the future."
Below is a post from men's tennis player Reece Acree about his experience with Knights Without Borders Orlando:
This week was nothing short of amazing. I was able to have the opportunity to team up with my fellow student-athletes at UCF and go out into the community we call home and truly make a difference.
We went to volunteer with four different organizations in six days, and each day I experienced all of us coming together and building new friendships with one another as well as with people in the community. One of my favorite experiences was at the Orlando Rescue Mission, where we went to interact and play games with the kids and families that lived there. At the end of the day we also had the opportunity to serve them dinner. This moment was really special because we got to see first hand how the people we helped were impacted and how thankful they were for what we were doing.
The last four days we volunteered at Habitat for Humanity and spent each day building a house for future families to live in. This part of the week was by far the hardest, but also one of the most rewarding.
Overall, this week was an unbelievable experience full of love, sweat and tears. But it was a very special feeling to be able to interact with the people in our community and truly give back and make an impact on peoples' lives.
To see everything the Knights accomplished during the week, check out this entire blog for photos, videos and more from Knights Without Borders Orlando.
July 15th, 2016
The Knights are coming down the home stretch of the first ever Knights Without Borders Orlando event. The student-athletes spent their third day helping Habitat for Humanity constructing a house for a future homeowner.
The group continued to hang drywall inside the house, which is more than halfway completed. While the majority of the student-athletes worked inside the house, a hand full of them worked outside painting window shutters and completed touchup paint on the siding.
Saturday will be the final day of Knights Without Borders Orlando and the student-athletes will finish the week back at Habitat for Humanity. To see more of what the Knights have accomplished during KWOB Orlando and hear from the student-athletes taking part in the event, watch the video above.
You can also continue to check UCFKnights.com and follow the Knights' social media accounts to see more of Knights Without Borders Orlando coverage.
July 14th, 2016
It was back to Habitat for Humanity on day four of Knights Without Borders Orlando. After spending Wednesday painting the outside of a house for a future homeowner, the Knights began putting up drywall throughout the house.
The student-athletes also received a visit from Director of Athletics Danny White, who joined in with hanging the drywall.
"I think it's awesome," said White. "It's a lot of fun to see our young men and women give back to the community that I know they're so passionate about."
The Knights have two more days left with KWOB Orlando and both of them will be spent with Habitat for Humanity.
For more on the day's event, check out the photo gallery above. You can also continue to check UCFKnights.com and follow the Knights' social media accounts to see more of Knights Without Borders Orlando coverage.
July 13th, 2016
The Knights embraced Wednesday morning's heat and humidity as Knights Without Borders Orlando volunteered with Habitat for Humanity on Day 3 of its weeklong program to give back to the community.
UCF spent its time painting the outside of a house for a future homeowner as well as watering the plants and gardens of other homes that are part of Habitat for Humanity. This is the first of four days the student-athletes will spend volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.
"It's definitely an honor to be out here to help the community and give back," said football player Michael Willett. "Especially since this is the town that supports us. Giving back means a lot to me."
For more on the day's event, watch the video above from Day 3. You can also continue to check UCFKnights.com and follow the Knights' social media accounts to see more of Knights Without Borders Orlando coverage. Below are pictures from Tuesday's KWOB Orlando event at the Second Harvest Food Bank.
July 12th, 2016
All week, UCF's Everyday Champions are giving back to the community by participating in the first Knights Without Borders: Orlando. The week-long event will see several UCF student-athletes volunteering at various organizations and charities throughout Orlando.
On Monday, UCF Student-Athletes spent the morning at Freedom Ride, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching lives of adults and children with disabilities through therapeutic horseback riding. The Knights repainted fences around the stables.
On Monday afternoon, the student-athletes traveled to the Orlando Rescue Mission. They played games like kickball, basketball and soccer with children at the rescue mission.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Knights traveled to the Second Harvest Food Bank to help package food for those in need.
For the remainder of the week, the Knights Without Borders Orlando crew will volunteer with Habitat for Humanity to help build a house for a family in need.
Below is a photo gallery and above is a video from the first two days. Continue to check UCFKnights.com follow the Knights' social media accounts to see more of Knights Without Borders Orlando coverage.
07-11-16 Freedom Ride - Images by UCF Knights