Lady Wildcats Giving Back To Overton

The Livingston Academy girls basketball team packed over 400 boxes of food for Overton County families through Food to The Rescue.

This is the second year of service by the Lady Wildcats. They doubled last years amount of food packed. Assistant coach Marlee Sells said the team attacked the task with a good attitude and worked as a team to ensure each box was as efficiently packed as possible.

“It wasn’t anything we had to make them do,” Sells said. “They just saw where we were struggling and helped pick us up there. And I thought that was definitely something you can probably translate over to the basketball court pretty easily. They just see what the role is, see where the team needs help and that’s what they did on that assembly line too. So, it was cool to just sit back and watch that.”

Sells said the team independently came up with a plan and this included the assembly line that started with the seniors and ended with the freshman putting the final touches on the boxes. She said that this is something she hopes becomes a yearly tradition for the team, due to the need for it.

“I talked to the people over Food to the Rescue and they said for Overton County last year, they delivered to about 130 kids and this year we boxed up 400 boxes of food,” Sells said. “So, it’s definitely growing and needed in Overton County and we would love to keep helping out as much as we can.”

With Overton County on fall break this week, there is always a concern that kids may not be fed as well at home. But with the help from the Lady Wildcats and Food to the Rescue, that concern is lessened.

With the volleyball season over and the soccer team on an off day, Sells said this was the team’s first chance to all be together this year. She said it was great team bonding that served a purpose.

“It was really cool to see the girls take a different perspective on things,” Sells said. “Because we’re all really blessed and it is different to think about how other people have to live their lives. So, seeing those girls and knowing they were able to help out with people in our community was a great opportunity.”