Walt Whitman Basketball Players Trade Hoops for Aprons in Community Service

The varsity basketball players at Walt Whitman High School are more than athletes; they are leaders committed to making a difference.

The team participates in community service projects to help them grow as players and as compassionate individuals ready to lead on and off the court each season.

Before MLK Service Week, the players rolled up their sleeves to volunteer at SOME (So Others Might Eat), a soup kitchen in Northwest D.C.

"It's always a good feeling to give back," said Evan Brown, a senior. "[I] just like always thinking of others and people who need it more in the community."

Christopher Lun, the team’s coach and a middle school teacher at Thomas W. Pyle Middle School, said these efforts emphasize leadership skills to help the players become well-rounded.

"It teaches them good life skills and interpersonal skills to give back to those who are less fortunate," said Lun, who has been coaching the team for over 20 years.

Additionally, the team partners with Families4Families, a student-led organization, to organize food drives with Access Youth, Inc. in D.C., where players collect, pack and deliver groceries to distribution sites. They have also assembled backpacks in Gaithersburg with the non-profit organization Comfort Cases.

"We just don't want to teach the kids basketball," said Lun. "We want to teach them how to be good people and do the right thing."