Vols Ben Martin on SEC Community Service team

The Southeastern Conference released its Community Service team today including one player from each of the 12 schools.  Ben Martin was chosen to represent the Tennessee Volunteers.

Here is what the SEC's media release said about Martin:

Ben Martin has volunteered his time with the Knox County Public Law Defender's Office, working with children from low-income areas.  He has visited patients at East Tennessee's Children's Hospital and has worked with children at the Knox Kicks Soccer Clinic and Boys and Girls Club.  He has been a volunteer, playing with children, for a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundraiser and with Teams for Toys.  A member of UT's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, he has also participated in campus clean-up efforts.

Quote from Ben Martin

"The thing I had the most fun doing was soccer camp with refugee kids last summer here at UT. It was a lot of fun watching them run around and interacting with them. We played soccer, we played other kinds of games. It was rewarding seeing them have fun and also a lot of fun for me."

Here is the rest of the release from the Southeastern Conference:

The SEC sponsors Community Service Teams for all 20 league sponsored sports. The Community Service Team highlights an athlete from each school who gives back to their community in superior service efforts.  This year's Football Community Service Team honorees are listed below:

Alabama Crimson Tide
Javier Arenas
Senior, Cornerback, Tampa, Fla.

Javier Arenas has volunteered more than 50 hours of community service throughout the Tuscaloosa community. He has spent time in the local school systems, speaking to children about the dangers of bullying and the positive effects of team work. He has also attended birthday parties of physically challenged children and reached out with phone calls to children battling cancer. He is also involved with Project Angel Tree.

Arkansas Razorbacks
D.J. Williams
Junior, Tight End, Little Rock, Ark.

D.J. Williams faced domestic violence growing up and has used his platform in an effort to help other dealing with similar circumstances. Williams is active at the University of Arkansas and in the city of Fayetteville with numerous community initiatives. He has participated in the Razorback for a Day program where he signed autographs and took pictures with kids from the Northwest Arkansas Children Center. He also assisted in the SEC Together We Can program. He is a volunteer with Big Brother/Big Sisters and has helped feed the hungry in Northwest Arkansas with the "Lift Up America" program. Williams is a member of SAAC for 2009-10 and last year was involved in the Christmas Shop Razorback SAAC program at Toys-R-US. In May of 2009, he was selected to represent the University of Arkansas at the National Student-Athlete Development Conference at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Auburn University
Walter McFadden
Senior, Defensive Back, Pompano Beach, Fla.

Walter McFadden has been active with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for the last three years.  He has participated in Toys for Tots and the Beat Bama Food Drive the last three years with the AU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.  He participated in the BRIDGES Summer Program at Drake Middle School, as a featured speaker during the summer day camp.  He has also participated in the Learning Zone Day Care Center Pep Rally and the Auburn Early Education Center Pep Rally and has been a featured speaker at the KUMON Math and Reading Center and Camp Kaleidoscope (summer program sponsored by the City of Auburn).

Quote from Walter McFadden

"The reason why community service is so important to me is because it had an effect on my life. A lot of people came back and helped out in the organizations I grew up playing in, and they helped me get to where I am today, so I felt like I should return that favor."

University of Florida
David Nelson
Senior, Wide Receiver, Wichita Falls, Texas

David Nelson has headed up Florida's huge charity event, the Gator Charity Challenge, which took place July 31 in The Swamp. Nelson was the main spokesman, meeting weekly to promote the event. In addition to his in-depth work and plentiful time devoted to the Gator Charity Challenge, Nelson also made time to take part in several other community outreach activities, including making a visit to Shands Hospital in Gainesville to visit sick patients, taking part in a tour of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, serving as a leader during one of UF's "Swamp Fieldtrips", where local school kids are rewarded for good work by visiting "The Swamp" and meeting a special guest such as Nelson. Additionally, Nelson spent three hours on a hospital visit for the March of Dimes, the charity for which he was a captain during Gator Charity Challenge, while also taking time to attend a community outreach video game contest put on by the UF Football team.

University of Georgia
Jeff Owens
Senior, Defensive Tackle, Sunrise, Fla.

Jeff Owens has been deeply involved in community service activities during his four-year Georgia career.  His resume of community service activities include assisting in building a home with the Athens area Habitat For Humanity, visiting patients at St. Mary's Hospital, Boys and Girls Club, the SEC "Together We Can" Food Drive, adopting local families as part of the UGA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Holiday Helpers, visiting patients at the Egleston Children's Hospital, Barrow Elementary School Reading Program, HERO for a Day (non-profit agency dedicated to improving quality of life of children infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS) and Countdown to Kickoff, benefitting Children's Heath Care of Atlanta. 

University of Kentucky
Alfonso Smith
Senior, Tailback, Louisville, Ky.

Alfonso Smith has been very active in the "Cats That Care" service program during his four years as a Wildcat. He has put in over 200 hours of community service with his Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and with his help Phi Beta Sigma won the Community Service Award in 2009. Smith has been a visitor and guest speaker at numerous schools and events, including the West End Community Empowerment Project, the American Cancer Society Relay and the March of Dimes' step show. He participated in a fundraiser for the homeless in Lexington and volunteered with the Salvation Army by serving as a bell ringer, selling baked goods and donating his own clothing. Smith also is a nominee for the Allstate / AFCA Good Works Team.

Louisiana State University
Lyle Hitt
Senior, Offensive Guard, Baton Rouge, La.

Lyle Hitt has been active in RUF (Reformed University Fellowship) at LSU, which is a Presbyterian based campus ministry group.  He is also a member of National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the National College Athlete Honor Society.  As an active member in FCA, he routinely speaks to high school FCA groups in the Baton Rouge area.  He went on a week-long medical mission to the Dominican Republic in May of 2009 and continues to pursue his goal of attending medical school.  He has worked at a food pantry through a local ministry and is active in reading to students at local elementary schools.  He is also a member of the LSU Mortar Board.

University of Mississippi
Dexter McCluster
Senior, Wide Receiver, Largo, Fla.

Dexter McCluster participates annually with Reading with the Rebels at Oxford area elementary schools.  He is a volunteer with the annual National Student-Athlete Day Community Service Project and the "As We Grow" Summer Fitness Program.  He has participated in Arts for the Angels charity performance for Angel Ranch, with all proceeds going to benefit temporarily displaced children who are in the protective custody of the Mississippi Department of Human Services.  During game week at the 2009 AT&T Cotton Bowl, he visited with children at Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas.

Mississippi State University
Tyson Lee
Senior, Quarterback, Columbus, Miss.

Tyson Lee is an active member in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the student-athlete M-Club, and completes several service projects a year with both groups.  Tyson is an active speaker visiting with youth groups, classrooms and local churches.  Tyson is scheduled to graduate in December and plans on a career in teaching or coaching.

Quote from Tyson Lee

"Giving back to others is something that we have a responsibility to do as leaders in the community. We're blessed to be able to walk into schools and places around the community and be looked up at and welcomed, so it's our duty to make sure we're being a positive influence and a role model to everybody that's watching us."

University of South Carolina
Moe Brown
Senior, Wide Receiver, Anderson, S.C.

Moe Brown has been very active in the Columbia community over the past four years. The Gamecock wide receiver is a mentor at New Providence Elementary School, has been a regular participant at Camp Kemo, a camp for children with cancer, Children's Chance Evening with the Gamecocks, and has been a participant in the Pigskin Poets program, reading and meeting with over 300 children at the annual event. In addition, Brown ran a station at our recent Boy Scouts Day, in which over 500 boy scouts were taught teamwork and sportsmanship. He served as the final speaker at the event as well. Brown is also the football team's representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Quote from Moe Brown

"It's very important to give back to the community to me personally just because they pour themselves into us as fans with their support for us. To have a chance to put a smile on someone's face when they may be having a bad day, it gives me joy as well as them. We who are blessed are supposed to give back. I feel like a blessed person and I can bless someone in return. That's why I like to give back to the community."

University of Tennessee
Ben Martin
Junior, Defensive End, Cincinnati, Ohio

Ben Martin has volunteered his time with the Knox County Public Law Defender's Office, working with children from low-income areas.  He has visited patients at East Tennessee's Children's Hospital and has worked with children at the Knox Kicks Soccer Clinic and Boys and Girls Club.  He has been a volunteer, playing with children, for a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundraiser and with Teams for Toys.  A member of UT's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, he has also participated in campus clean-up efforts.

Quote from Ben Martin

"The thing I had the most fun doing was soccer camp with refugee kids last summer here at UT. It was a lot of fun watching them run around and interacting with them. We played soccer, we played other kinds of games. It was rewarding seeing them have fun and also a lot of fun for me."

Vanderbilt University
Myron Lewis
Senior, Cornerback, Pompano Beach, Fla.

Myron Lewis has spent the last two summers working with inner-city kids in the Nashville area. As a counselor at the Martha O'Bryan Center in east Nashville, Lewis has served as a mentor and counselor for dozens of elementary school children at the center.

Quote from Myron Lewis

 "To tell the truth, I've probably enjoyed the last two summers at the Martha O'Bryan Center as much as the kids have. It's been an extremely rewarding experience.

"I enjoy the role of being a mentor or big brother because I know how important it was in my own life. I always had older brothers there to encourage and support me, and simply help guide me when I was younger. They were my mentors.

"I've met a lot of youngsters at the O'Bryan Center that have their entire lives ahead of them. Hopefully, I've been a positive influence on them, given some good advice and lots of encouragement, and just been a positive role model."