The Westbrook Family had suffered through two crippling injuries and was in need of something positive. Mr. Westbrook had served our country overseas, but had lost the use of his legs when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Upon his return home to Oklahoma, the family was involved in a car accident leaving one of the Westbrook sons without the use of his legs, just like his father. Such tragic events are always hard to hear of, so think what it must be like to live through. No family deserves that.

But when ABC’s hit reality television show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” came to Southwest Oklahoma to help the Westbrooks forget about their misfortune if just for a second, everyone was excited.

Lawton is a big city with a small town feel. It is a town of 100,000+ citizens, three enormous high schools, and one of the biggest U.S. Army bases in the country. It takes nearly a half hour to drive from the far east side to the far west side of town, but news travels fast. When local Grady Brewer won the championship on ESPN’s reality boxing television show “The Contender,” it was huge. You can just imagine the buzz when it was announced that Extreme Makeover was coming to town.

Not only was Lawton being turned into Hollywood for a week, but a deserving family was having their lives changed in a remarkable way. Numerous people worked together as doctors turned into diggers, businessmen into builders, cashiers into contractors, and a city into a team.

One group of volunteers who worked their hearts out to provide the best for the Westbrook Family, was the Cameron University Athletic Department and their numerous student-athletes, coaches, and administrators. The Cameron Aggies compete at the Division II level in ten intercollegiate sports (baseball, softball, volleyball (women’s), cross country (men’s), and men’s and women’s basketball, tennis, and golf) and each squad represented CU and the City of Lawton by helping out at the Extreme Makeover site.

“Part of our responsibility to our student-athletes and to our community is to give something back,” Cameron Athletic Director Jim Jackson said. “By teaching our student-athletes the importance of community, they will have a better foundation and will hopefully get involved (in their community) wherever they go once they leave Cameron.”

The Cameron Athletic Department is always looking for community service projects to be involved in and is known for their efforts all around the city. The Aggie baseball and softball teams are frequent volunteers at local elementary school field-days and track meets. The men’s and women’s basketball teams often read aloud to area students and host basketball camps for young children.

Jackson actually sets an annual goal of a combined 2,500 community service hours for the entire department throughout the entire school year. The Aggies always strive to surpass their goal and the Extreme Makeover project nearly secured another 2,500 hours this year. The Aggies volunteered a total of 402 hours at the EMHE site by everyone from the baseball team to the cheerleading squad.

“This was a rare opportunity for us,” Jackson said. “We go to elementary schools and do all kinds of community service work but this was a special opportunity for us to give back to the community and to the Westbrooks.”

Jackson went on to explain that the EMHE project was mutually beneficial for both the Westbook Family and the Aggie student-athletes.

“At the same time we were volunteering we were experiencing team building, team bonding, and building on our camaraderie together from team to team as well as within each team,” Jackson said. “The feedback from our coaches was that it was a good teambuilding experience and something completely different from practice. Our athletes worked together to accomplish the same goal and we are appreciative of being able to be a small part of a wonderful thing that Lawton did for the Westbrook Family.”

Each one of Cameron’s ten athletic programs, as well as the cheerleading squad and numerous administrators, helped out at the EMHE site. The women’s golf team helped to construct the foundation. The baseball team helped to move thousands of pounds worth of supplies. The softball team helped spackle and fill holes. The Aggies lent a helping hand in countless different ways.

“It was great to be able to give something back,” Head Women’s Basketball Coach Kevin Hackerott said. “Lawton has long supported Cameron University and our athletic department, so any time we can give something back to make a difference in someone’s life we like to take that opportunity.”

The 402 hours the Aggies contributed gave a huge boost for Jackson’s yearly community service goal. At the end of February the athletic department had accumulated a total of 1,700+ community service hours with nearly two and a half months to go.

“Not only do we try and make winning a tradition at CU, but we try and make involvement in community and family a tradition too,” Head Women’s Golf Coach and Event Coordinator Rick Goodwin said. “We didn’t see volunteering (at Extreme Makeover) as a chore, we were actually all excited to be helping.”

Head Softball Coach Richie Nye echoed Goodwin’s sentiments.

“What made the experience unforgettable was that the athletes had a chance to be a part of something important, and not be the center of attention,” Nye said. “So many people give up their time and money to see our student-athletes compete, and now we are just a small part of something extraordinary. It’s a very special experience.”

While the Westbrook Family may never know the name and face of everyone who worked on their new house, they will never forget the collective effort of the volunteers who worked so hard.

And while the Aggies may never know the name and face of each Westbrook family member, they will never forget the time they helped to change someone’s life for the better.

Cameron University’s slogan, “You’re Cameron, you’re changing lives,” may never ring truer.