Lyons and Carroll Hall will host the annual Volley for the Vets volleyball tournament Saturday, with proceeds benefiting the Notre Dame Veterans Fund, providing support to veterans who wish to pursue an education at Notre Dame.
All students are welcome to form teams of six for the event, and can enter the tournament for a donation of $10, which will go towards the Notre Dame Veterans Fund.
Junior Aidan Cook, Carroll Hall president, said the competition will be different from previous years, taking place at the Stepan Center beach volleyball courts instead of the ones near each residence hall.
“This year we are trying to centralize things and our hope in doing that is to get some lawn games set up and play music so that people are not only there to play, but also to watch,” Cook said.
In addition to the games, students will be able to buy T-shirts for $10 with the proceeds also benefiting veterans.
Sophomore Dora Leonardo, president of Lyons Hall, said the tournament will use the same T-shirt design as last year “to create unity.”
Representatives will be outside both South and North Dining Halls helping students sign up to participate. Pre-registration is not required, and teams may also just show up to the event on Saturday. Last year, the event brought out 25 teams, and this year, the organizers would like to see even more.
While students will compete against one another, the tournament’s deeper goal is to give back to veterans. The Notre Dame Veterans Fund helps to alleviate the cost of tuition and housing for the service men and women who are students at Notre Dame. The Volley for the Vets tournament raises a substantial amount of money for these causes.
The annual event was started by a Lyons Hall student who felt passionately about giving back to those in the military and in honor of her relative who served.
“It was really strong in her heart that there needed to be some sort of event whether it was for veterans or those actively in the military,” Leonardo said. “And she took the initiative and started it.”
While the event not only strengthens the relationship between students and the Notre Dame’s initiatives for veterans, it also bolsters the community between Lyons and Carroll Hall, who are brother and sister dorms.
Maggie Griffin, a sophomore in Lyons, said events like Volley for the Vets can bring people together under a common cause.
“I love Volley for the Vets because it brings together students on campus to recognize the importance of veterans causes,” Griffin said. “Lyons and Carroll Hall have a great relationship and this fosters an even better sense of community.”
