Farley on a Mission
9/29/2017 8:51:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics, Features
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After taking mission trips to Haiti over the last two summers, freshman Lauren Farley is ready to offer her service to the University of Michigan women's gymnastics team and the Ann Arbor community.
A silver medalist at this year's Junior Olympic National Championships, Farley is part of an exciting group of Wolverine freshmen who could make an immediate impact on the team. However, her work in the community has provided the biggest impact.
Farley joined a group called KLIFE in her hometown of Dallas, Texas. KLIFE describes itself as a community-wide, interdenominational Christian ministry of discipleship and fellowship for youth and their families. As part of the group, Farley was introduced to Mission of Hope, which partners with local churches in Haiti to try and transform villages. Farley went to Lévêque, Haiti for one week in both 2016 and 2017 to try and make a difference.
"I just thought it would be really cool to go and just kind of experience life through a different perspective," said Farley. "It was incredible. It was kind of life changing to see how physically they have literally nothing but they were so strong spiritually and emotionally."
During her first trip in 2016, Farley saw things like families living in a tarp with a cement floor. It made her appreciate what she had at home even more.
Projects on the trip include painting houses, visiting with villagers to determine their needs, and feeding meals to kids. Playing with the children gave Farley one of her favorite memories.
"I had a picture of this little boy on my lock screen for my phone from the first year I went," said Farley. "I saw him again this year and it was just so sweet because in the picture he had no front teeth and now he just looked more grown up. We took the same picture again this year."
The takeaways from the mission trips were very positive for Farley and even transferred to her gymnastics.
"Putting things in perspective, if I was having a bad day I would just look at how much I have and get a better attitude," she said. "It encouraged me to really believe in my faith, because they have nothing but spiritually they have so much."
Farley has done other community service projects along with her mission trips to Haiti. She and her mother, Liz, were part of the National Charity League, a mother-daughter organization dedicated to improving communities through hands-on volunteerism. They volunteered together at the North Texas Food Bank, retirement communities and the Special Olympics to name a few.
"Sometimes it is hard to sign up to volunteer, but the National Charity League helped us gain access to some of these organizations," said Farley. "My mom is a great example of how to serve the community."
Farley brings that selflessness to a Wolverines program with a long history in serving the community. Being a part of events such as the Buddy Walk for acceptance of individuals with Down Syndrome, their Autism Awareness meets, holiday toy drives and weekly visits to C.S. Mott Children's Hospital are just some of the ways head coach Bev Plocki and her team have given back. Now Farley is excited to be part of the philanthropic women's gymnastics program.
"I think it is incredible that Bev and the University of Michigan give us that opportunity," said Farley. "Michigan is top notch. It is also the perfect combination of athletics and academics. Other programs had pieces that were incredible, but Michigan has it all. It was the last school I visited, and it was the grand finale of programs."
Players Mentioned
