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The prestigious college football award celebrates a quarter-century of recognizing student-athletes for acts of good in their communities
NORTHBROOK, Ill., July 13, 2016 – Allstate Insurance Company and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) today announced 165 nominees for the 2016 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, one of the most coveted off-the-field honors in college football. North Carolina is represented by senior place-kicker Nick Weiler.
A Lou Groza Award semifinalist in 2015, Weiler has been one of Carolina's most active members of the community. As a sophomore, he started volunteering at New Hope Elementary School in Chapel Hill. He collaborated with the fifth grade teacher on various projects, primarily focusing on establishing a connection between student-athletes and elementary students. Weiler spent many hours the classroom, visiting at least once each week, working one-on-one with students, mentoring, tutoring, and playing with them at recess. He was able to share his own success story as well as his struggles and answered thousands of questions about being a Tar Heel and life as a student-athlete.
In 2014, Weiler took over the Pen Pals program at New Hope, which was initiated by another student-athlete that graduated the previous spring. The program originally had over 80 student-athletes and four elementary classrooms participating and has since quadrupled in size and now includes about 350 pen pals. The pen pals exchange letters twice each month and Weiler acts as the liaison for making sure the letters are delivered on time. Not only does this program give students an authentic purpose to write, it also allows them to establish a relationship with a specific student-athlete. Weiler's passion and organization are vital to the success of the Pen Pals program and his actions have influenced other student-athletes to visit our school. Additionally, Nick helps coordinate an annual Pen Pals meet and greet each spring where the students are invited to attend a UNC baseball game and receive VIP treatment complete with memorabilia and autograph sessions with every sports team.
Weiler also started coming to the Charles House as a freshman and has given more than 100 hours of volunteer time at this daytime eldercare facility in Chapel Hill. Weiler is always ready and willing to jump in, and help wherever help is needed. The activities inlcude dancing with the participants, singing during music hour, eating lunch with the participants, or volunteering on the weekends at the eldercare homes with construction work.
As a Division I student-athlete, Weiler understands and appreciates the value of teamwork, leadership and giving back to the community. He is a member of Carolina Outreach, a core group of student-athletes who are instrumental in coordinating community service activities and serves as an outreach representative for the football team. He attends monthly outreach meetings and enthusiastically recruits his teammates (and other UNC student-athletes) to attend various community service events. Additionally, Weiler is at every football team hospital visit before a home game, and is great at recruiting his teammates to join him. His commitment to helping others is unparalleled and his enthusiasm is simply contagious. He is a remarkable leader and has a natural ability to make those around him better.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Works award, which was established in 1992 to recognize a select group of college football players who have made a commitment to service and enriching the lives of others.
The prestigious college football award celebrates a quarter-century of recognizing student-athletes for acts of good in their communities
NORTHBROOK, Ill., July 13, 2016 – Allstate Insurance Company and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) today announced 165 nominees for the 2016 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, one of the most coveted off-the-field honors in college football. North Carolina is represented by senior place-kicker Nick Weiler.
A Lou Groza Award semifinalist in 2015, Weiler has been one of Carolina's most active members of the community. As a sophomore, he started volunteering at New Hope Elementary School in Chapel Hill. He collaborated with the fifth grade teacher on various projects, primarily focusing on establishing a connection between student-athletes and elementary students. Weiler spent many hours the classroom, visiting at least once each week, working one-on-one with students, mentoring, tutoring, and playing with them at recess. He was able to share his own success story as well as his struggles and answered thousands of questions about being a Tar Heel and life as a student-athlete.
In 2014, Weiler took over the Pen Pals program at New Hope, which was initiated by another student-athlete that graduated the previous spring. The program originally had over 80 student-athletes and four elementary classrooms participating and has since quadrupled in size and now includes about 350 pen pals. The pen pals exchange letters twice each month and Weiler acts as the liaison for making sure the letters are delivered on time. Not only does this program give students an authentic purpose to write, it also allows them to establish a relationship with a specific student-athlete. Weiler's passion and organization are vital to the success of the Pen Pals program and his actions have influenced other student-athletes to visit our school. Additionally, Nick helps coordinate an annual Pen Pals meet and greet each spring where the students are invited to attend a UNC baseball game and receive VIP treatment complete with memorabilia and autograph sessions with every sports team.
Weiler also started coming to the Charles House as a freshman and has given more than 100 hours of volunteer time at this daytime eldercare facility in Chapel Hill. Weiler is always ready and willing to jump in, and help wherever help is needed. The activities inlcude dancing with the participants, singing during music hour, eating lunch with the participants, or volunteering on the weekends at the eldercare homes with construction work.
As a Division I student-athlete, Weiler understands and appreciates the value of teamwork, leadership and giving back to the community. He is a member of Carolina Outreach, a core group of student-athletes who are instrumental in coordinating community service activities and serves as an outreach representative for the football team. He attends monthly outreach meetings and enthusiastically recruits his teammates (and other UNC student-athletes) to attend various community service events. Additionally, Weiler is at every football team hospital visit before a home game, and is great at recruiting his teammates to join him. His commitment to helping others is unparalleled and his enthusiasm is simply contagious. He is a remarkable leader and has a natural ability to make those around him better.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Works award, which was established in 1992 to recognize a select group of college football players who have made a commitment to service and enriching the lives of others.
