Mastodons spend the summer giving back through community service

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – The Purdue Fort Wayne men’s basketball team has connected their NIL collective, Dons for Fort Wayne, with community service all throughout this summer.

The ‘Dons have spent more than 300 hours over 8 weeks at Boys & Girls Club and Renaissance Pointe YMCA working with kids. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, three players serve each program with whatever they need.

“It’s been amazing,” Eric Mulder, junior with PFW basketball, said. “It’s been inspiring to have those kids support us through the season and now we get to interact with them and see them more than just in the stands.”

One big impact they have made is their basketball camps at Boys & Girls Clubs of Fort Wayne.

“The kids just gravitate toward them,” Christopher Crease, Chief Operations Officer at Fort Wayne Boys and Girls Clubs, said. “They start talking about life, about how to play basketball, school, so really good relationship for the guys and for our children.”

The players are not only giving back to these kids, but the kids have also been making an impression on the Dons.

“It’s been a great challenge for our players, but also the kids here, they’ve given back to our guys,” said PFW men’s basketball coach Jon Coffman. “I think it’s made our guys better.”

With this new era of NIL opportunities across the college athletics landscape, Coffman said ventures like this make community engagement easier for players and donors. The coach said he feels that it is a part of his role to connect their program with the community of Fort Wayne.

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