Janee Thompson Named to SEC Community Service Team

LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky women’s basketball senior guard Janee Thompson has been named to the Southeastern Conference Community Service Team for her strong community service work in the Lexington since arriving on campus, it was announced by the league office on Wednesday.    

This marks the 18th year for the SEC Community Service Team for women’s basketball. All league-sponsored sports have had a Community Service Team since 2004, with at-large teams for men’s and women’s sports being chosen from 1999-2003. The SEC began this concept with a football Community Service Team in 1994.

Thompson led Kentucky in community service hours volunteering all over campus, including visiting patients at UK’s Markey Cancer Center, UK’s Children Hospital and Habitat for Humanity, where she helped repair a local playground. Earlier this year, after a large fire in the Lexington area, Thompson delivered cookies and donuts to a local firehouse on campus as part of Firefighter Appreciation Day. 

All 14 schools earned an honoree on the list with complete bios on each, including Thompson, listed below. 

For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @UKHoopCats on Twitter and Instagram, or Kentucky Women’s Basketball on Facebook.

Nikki Hegstetter • Alabama

Senior • Forward • Kennesaw, Ga.

Elementary school visits in conjunction with women’s basketball’s 5th Grade Fastbreak program … Walk to End Alzheimer’s … Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Halloween Extravaganze … Habitat for Humanity … The Miracle League of Tuscaloosa … DCH Manderson Cancer Center visits … Capstone Village Retirement Community visits… Three-time nominee for the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team.

Melissa Wolff • Arkansas

Senior • Forward • Cabot, Ark.

Owl Creek Elementary  School Block Party… Rockin’ with the Razorbacks… Rotary Club visit… Sweat Hogs PE Class visit at Owl Creek Elementary… AAO Basketball Academy, Book Hogs Read to Win Pizza Party… Wheels & Skills – Wheel Chair Basketball game… Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Day Activities… Book Hogs Pizza Party… Honduras Mission Trip… Participated in the Special Olympics area games… Attended the Led Faith Quarter @ Prairie Grove… Attended the Fall Carnival at Butterfield Elementary School… Delivered Groceries to families on Thanksgiving… Adopted a Family for Christmas… Helped raised fund for Shop with the Razorback SAAC… Attended Homestyle Assisted Living Center for Christmas… Spoke at the Hot Springs Sports Banquet… Tornado Relief with CLC Church… Participated in the Chillin’ 4 Charity… Allstate WBCA Good Works Team nominee.

Tra’Cee Tanner • Auburn

Senior • Forward • Birmingham, Ala.

Has spearheaded the Auburn women’s basketball team’s involvement with “Expressions of a BraveHeart,” a program that provides recreation opportunities to local youth and young adults with disabilities… Along with team, has adopted Boykin Daycare Center in Auburn, where the team spends time with the children and donates needed supplies regularly… Spent time volunteering at Storybook Farm, where children with special needs spend an hour a week for equine therapy… Has helped stuff backpacks as part of the End Child Hunger initiative in conjunction with the Jason Dufner Charitable Foundation.

Brooke Copeland • Florida

Sophomore • Guard • Cleveland, Tenn.

Pediatrics Visits at Shands Hospital… Reads to young students at Williams Elementary School… Stomp the Swamp… Stadium Tour – Balance 180… One Room School House… Infusion room… Hoggetown 5K… Girls Place… Dreamer’s Foundation Prom… Climb for Cancer… Caleb’s Pitch… Baby Gator’s Field Day.

Merritt Hempe • Georgia

Senior • Forward • Fredericksburg, Va.

Hempe has been nominated for the 2016 AllState WBCA Good Works Team for her efforts off the court… Special Olympics Homeruns for Hometown Rivals baseball game… Toys for Tots… Writing Holiday cards for deployed soldiers… Helping provide safe routes to school by partnering with Barrow Elementary… Providing toiletries collection for the homeless… Visiting Stroud Elementary throughout the year to encourage and mentor children… Alzheimer’s Walk Volunteer and Ath-Half Volunteer… Volunteers as an AAU coach and operations staff member. 

Janee Thompson • Kentucky

Senior • Guard • Chicago, Ill.

Recently, Thompson spent four hours helping repair a playground and work on houses for Habitat for Humanity and packed and delivered food to a local elementary school as part of God’s Pantry Back Pack Program… For the past few years, Thompson has worked to get blankets donated and delivered them to the UK Children’s Hospital…  Earlier this year, Thompson delivered donuts and cookies to a local firehouse in Lexington to help celebrate Firefighter Appreciate Day. 

Akilah Bethel • LSU

Senior • Forward • Baltimore, Md.

Walk/Run to Remember to benefit Alzheimer’s… Halloween BOOzar (on-campus trick-or-treating event for local children)… Be the Match… Sports Day at Buchanan Elementary… Thanksgiving With The Tigers (annual Christmas-themed initiative where each team adopts a child through the Big Buddy program for Christmas, and provides him or her with Christmas gifts)… LSU Museum of Art… East Baton Rouge Parish school visit… LSU Feeds Africa… The Arc of Baton Rouge (provides services for children with Autism, Down syndrome, Asperger’s syndrome, cerebral palsy and other similar conditions)… Dance Marathon of LSU (LSU’s largest philanthropic, student-run organization supporting the children and families of Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital, Children’s Miracle Network Hospital)… Girls on the Run (teaches life skills through dynamic, interactive lessons and running games)… Team visit to the local youth homeless shelter.

Erika Sisk • Ole Miss

Junior • Guard • Oxford, Miss.

A visit to Batson Children’s Hospital where she and her teammates spent time with patients on the oncology floor… Basketball skill clinics for the  Horizons Summer Program sponsored by the McLean Institute at Ole Miss… Helped to build a Habitat for Humanity house in Oxford… Has spent time with residents at the North Mississippi Regional Center and Oxford Rehabilitation Center… Also active in Ole Miss’ Reading with the Rebels program, which sends Ole Miss student athletes to local classrooms in the Oxford-Lafayette community to read to classrooms… Active with the statewide Move Mississippi initiative, which encourages healthy eating and movement – she has helped with basketball clinics within this movement. 

Blair Schaefer • Mississippi State

Sophomore • Guard • Starkville, Miss.

Active member of the M-Club… Always found at community service opportunities for both M-Club and the women’s basketball team… Participated in Travis Outlaw Day in Starkville, playing with children and helping run games… Also participated in Step Up For Kids service opportunity… Met fans and played games with young members of Bully’s Kids’ Club at Family Night opportunities… Assisted with the T.K. Martin Fun Run that benefits the T.K. Martin Center for children with special needs… Volunteered to help with the region Special Olympics.

Lianna Doty • Missouri

Redshirt Junior • Guard • St. Louis, Mo.

Spent time with the Athletes in Action Urban Project in inner city Los Angeles for a month in the summer of 2015… Granny’s House… Boys and Girls Club… Special Olympics… Coyote Hill… Race for the Cure… MU Children’s Hospital… Mizzou Moves… Caleb’s pitch… Freedom Arts and Education ministry… Missouri Stream Team.

Khadijah Sessions • South Carolina

Senior • Guard • Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Served as a volunteer coach for the Columbia Supersonics U10 basketball team for three months, working with youth on physical and mental aspects of the game… Helped distribute food and other necessities during flood recovery in Columbia… Worked with Innersole on several projects throughout her career… Visited various Children’s Chance events.

Andraya Carter • Tennessee

Redshirt Junior • Guard • Flowery Branch, Ga. 

Hoops For Hope… East Tennessee Children’s Hospital Dance… AAU Coach/Mentor… Baptist Church Promotion Day… Boys & Girls Club Mentor… Tennessee School for the Deaf Coach/Mentor… Accompanied the singing of the National Anthem in American Sign Language prior to UT’s game vs. Ole Miss.

Taylor Cooper • Texas A&M

Junior • Forward • Shawnee, Okla.

Helped mentor 5th graders at Bonham Elementary School in Bryan, continuing a long-standing tradition of A&M’s women’s basketball team mentoring Bonham Elementary children… Has served as a volunteer coach to the Little Dribblers in Bryan… She also handed out trophies to the basketball participants of the Summerville Little Dribblers.

Kendall Shaw • Vanderbilt

Redshirt Junior • Center • Mont Belvieu, Texas

Organized and helped promote Vanderbilt WBB’s Week of Thanks, which included several community-service projects during the week of Thanksgiving, such as a Food Drive and Shoe Drive… Worked/Volunteered with/for a nonprofit for 2 months for 20-25 hours each week… Reading at the children’s hospital … Fun activities at the children’s hospital… Volunteering at Martha O’Bryan working with kids… Helping give out new shoes to the homeless or less fortunate at the St Thomas Hope, Health, and Healing… Collecting water/generators on campus with Vanderbilt athletics to take to South Carolina… Helped with a shoe drive in hometown that collected 1,050 pairs of shoes.