Local sports team helps others

Aliso Niguel boys basketball program collects food, clothes for the needy.

By DON YAFFEE

Special to The Orange County Register

Players on the Aliso Niguel High boys basketball program spent Saturday, Nov. 1, going door to door collecting non-perishable food donations for their annual Heart for Hunger food drive.

The food drive is part of the Wolverines "Socks from Jocks" community service program, which was founded in 2005 by ANHS alumni Harry Meussner and Connor Crabtree to help those in need by coordinating a clothing drive to collect coats and socks based on feedback from the Orange County Rescue Mission. Today, "Socks from Jocks" offers a variety of community service opportunities for athletic and educational organizations.

The program is now guided by Harry's younger brother, Jimmy, along with varsity players Daniel and Phillip Spitler

Guided by Booster Club President Jane Muessner, her son Jimmy Meussner, Daniel and Phillip Spitler, and several volunteer parents the players collected 2,900 pounds of food for the Orange County Rescue Mission; a significant increase over last year's 2,200 pounds. The parent volunteers drove the players through the communities of Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo where they were met by many generous residents.

The food drive is followed by a scavenger hunt at the Laguna Niguel Albertsons. The players are divided into teams and given a set of clues to locate Thanksgiving themed food items such as cranberry sauce, yams, stuffing, gravy, and mashed potatoes. The players solve the clues: I'm a potato that's orange all cubed in a can. I'm sweet as can be; can you guess what I am? (yams). The clues include the brand name and size to purchase. After each team finds all their products a judge confirms that they have solved all of the clues correctly. The team proceeds to the check out stand to end the game by purchasing what they collected using a gift card. The donated and purchased non-perishable food items are delivered to the Orange County Rescue Mission.

The Wolverines Boys Basketball season started with a Kick-Off dinner in mid-October. The players and parents are asked to donate clothing and new socks at the dinner as part of the Socks from Jock clothing drive. This year the players, coaches, and parents collected 189 coats, 191 pairs of jeans, 404 shoes, and 285 pairs of socks. Last year, they collected 162 coats, 169 pairs of jeans, 274 shoes and 168 pairs of socks. The coats, jeans, and socks were all delivered to the Orange County Rescue Mission. The shoes were delivered to the Burbank recycling center for Nike Grind to build basketball courts for underprivileged areas.