Garden City, N.Y. - Adelphi University was featured in the 2025-26 Helper Helper report for NCAA Divisions I, II and III, highlighting schools that made major contributions through community service. The Panthers ranked among the top contributors nationally, placing 13th across all of Division II.
Helper Helper allows student-athletes to find local volunteer opportunities and log their service hours directly.
The overview of the report featured over 600,000 service hours, 20,000 opportunities, 57,000 volunteers and an economic impact of $23 million between Division I, Division II and Division III.
Division II student-athletes contributed to over 5,300 opportunities, amounting to nearly 230,000 hours in this academic year.. Adelphi was also the only member of the Northeast 10 conference featured in the report, which recognized the top 45 schools.
Helper Helper broke the report down into the top-10 contributing schools by men's and women's sports. Adelphi landed in the top-10 in four different women's sports and two different men's sports.
On the women's side, the field hockey program led all of Division II, earning the No. 1 ranking. The volleyball program ranked third, women's swimming and diving finished eighth and women's track & XC slotted in at ninth.
Caroline Beakes, a captain of the field hockey team, said, "It is an honor to be able to serve the community and for our team to be recognized for doing so. Our team, and Adelphi in general, emphasizes staying active with the community and building meaningful relationships on and off campus. Giving back to the community has always been something that motivates our team and helps us remember that our impact is bigger than just what we do on the field."
Katie Brokes of the Adelphi volleyball team said, "Community service connects us as teammates on a deeper level, because it allows us to unite under a good cause. While we're technically the ones giving back to the community, community service also helps us build our leadership, communication and critical thinking skills. We're really proud to be able to represent an athletic department that has given us so much, and community service helps us spread kindness and the Adelphi name."
The two men's sports featured in the top-10 were men's cross country/track and field, which placed seventh in Division II, and men's lacrosse, which finished eighth in its respective rankings.
Adelphi SAAC Co-Presidents Rory Meehan and Peter Gentilini, student-athletes from the women's lacrosse and men's swimming and diving teams, each gave their thoughts on the achievement.
Meehan said, "Being ranked 13th in all of Division II for community service is an achievement that represents the character and dedication of Adelphi's student-athletes. Each of our teams engage in civic engagement activities throughout the year, all with the goal of making a positive impact in the communities we serve. This culture within our athletic department has led to the successful continuation of many impactful traditions, as well as the creation of new opportunities to give back. As SAAC President, I am incredibly proud of our student-athletes for this accomplishment and excited to continue expanding our involvement in the community in the years ahead. Go Panthers!"
Gentilini said, "Once I received the end-of-year report from Helper Helper I was blown away by how well we did as a school. I was one of our chairpersons for community service this past year, and it was really exciting to see all that we've accomplished. Our success on the fields and courts has been built by our teams' ability to work as a cohesive unit, and volunteering with each other has built that unity tenfold. Volunteering has always been a major part of my life, and I am extremely blessed to help our fellow Panthers strive to not only be amazing people in their sport, but in their communities as well. Next year as one of our SAAC Co-Presidents, my goal is to push our athletes' service efforts even further, and I can't wait to see what we can accomplish!"
