Cal football team volunteers at church

Jun. 12, 2005
By Jay Heater
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
OAKLAND - A group of about 20 men started to line up in the basement of the College Avenue Presbyterian Church and all of them were peering into the kitchen to see what Harrison Smith was doing.
They cared little that Smith just happens to be a starting cornerback on Cal's football team. On this night, Smith's job as a volunteer salad mixer was much more important. As he backed away from the huge salad bowl, the men knew a meal was coming their way soon.
"In Berkeley, we see people who need a meal every day," said Smith, who is a Skyline High School-Oakland graduate. "It's hard to look at it, but it opens your eyes."
Free meals at the church have become a regular offering to anyone in need. During the regular school year, a couple of local grammar schools -- Aurora and NOCCS -- draw upon their resources to find volunteers to help cook, serve and clean the church. But it's a program that has trouble functioning in the summer.
"We were having an event in May and I thought we would be short people," said Stephen Etter, who became involved in the free meal program because his son Daniel attends Aurora. "I called Tosh Lupoi (a Cal defensive end) and Ryan Foltz (a Golden Bears linebacker), who were students of mine at Cal, and asked if they would give me a hand. They came."
Etter, a San Francisco businessman, Cal grad and volunteer professor at Cal, said that he explained to Lupoi and Foltz about the difficulties of finding help in the summer. "Tosh said to me, 'We will do it. These people won't go hungry.'"
So Lupoi and Foltz went back to their teammates, explained the problem and then hung a volunteer sheet on the wall. "No one was there to feed the homeless, so that's where the Cal football team stepped in and filled the void," Lupoi said. "We will donate some Friday nights, provide meals and cook and clean. Basically, it's just a great way to help out the community and establish more unity within our own team."
More than 30 Cal players showed up on Friday night to help serve about 100 free meals. Lupoi divided the volunteers into shifts to help set up, cook and clean and he had to send home teammates who wanted to work longer hours because he didn't have the room in the kitchen.
"Guys like Tosh and Ryan are what a student-athlete should be all about," Etter said of Lupoi, who is a De La Salle High graduate, and Foltz, who attended Westlake High. "They are the kind of role models I want Daniel Etter to be like. They are humble, young men who don't like the limelight."
Cal coach Jeff Tedford said his players participate in many community projects that go without notice. "The kids continually are asking me if there is anything going on they can help with," Tedford said. "I know these kind of things give them a great feeling of self-worth and they are very gratifying. We have great kids who will continue to do things worth noticing. It's just whether people take the time to notice."
Etter agreed with Tedford that the public seldom gets a glimpse at the true nature of most of the athletes. "They're doing a lot more than we read about," Etter said. "Everyone would be surprised how large the campaign really is."
Anyone who would like to find out more about the program can call the church at 510-658-3665. The church holds benefit concerts featuring local artists the second Friday of every month to help fund the program. Admission is $10.