Denison Earns 2025 IWLCA Community Awareness Award

| By: Haiden Diemer-McKinney, Wabash '26
Denison University was one of four programs honored with a 2025 Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Community Awareness Award. Denison’s women’s lacrosse team earned recognition as the winner of Division III, joining Winthrop University (Division I), Belmont Abbey College (Division II), and Warner University (NAIA) as recipients.

The Big Red earned the Division III Community Awareness Award for their extensive service throughout the 2024–25 academic year. During spring break, team members participated in the Red Cross “Sound the Alarm” initiative, where they installed 308 smoke detectors in a local mobile home park and educated residents on fire safety, an effort that was featured in the Regional Red Cross Newsletter. Soon after, the team partnered with the Family Service Association of Redlands to decorate 130 Easter boxes for homeless and low-income individuals and prepared more than 800 cake pops for a community Easter meal.

Throughout the year, the team demonstrated a strong commitment to environmental stewardship by adopting a two-mile stretch of the TJ Evans bike trail, conducting monthly cleanups to help keep the area safe and welcoming. In November, 15 players volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House in Columbus, where they prepared and served breakfast for children and their families, funded by money raised by the team to cover meal costs. The team also connected with the local community through two “Trunk or Treat” events, sharing candy, costumes, and festive cheer with neighborhood children.
 
The Team Community Awareness Award recognizes one team in each Division that has contributed significantly to their community during the previous academic year. Academics are not considered for this award, and at least 50 percent of the team’s roster must have participated in community service activities to be eligible.
 

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