A Tradition of Giving: Student-Athlete Thanksgiving Food Drive Supports U-M Community
12/16/2025 4:35:00 PM | Field Hockey, General, Women's Lacrosse
By Jonathan Franchi
Student-athletes do not come to the University of Michigan to just play sports. They come to Ann Arbor to challenge themselves academically, to grow as human beings and to make a positive impact on their community. There's arguably no better time to make a difference in the local community than during the holiday season. Under the leadership of former Michigan women's lacrosse player Kaylee Dyer, this year marked the second year of the Michigan Athletics Thanksgiving Food Drive, an opportunity for Michigan student-athletes and athletic faculty to come together for a greater cause of helping families in need.
Dyer graduated from Michigan in the spring and enjoyed a historic career for Michigan women's lacrosse, finishing second all-time in program history in points (200), goals (125) and assists (76). Inspired by her mother's Thanksgiving food drive that started at Dyer's high school, she realized Michigan Athletics had a Christmas service project but still did not have one for Thanksgiving. She remembers helping out in her mom's Thanksgiving drive since she was in kindergarten, and the idea struck her early in her senior year.
"I just thought it was something that I wanted to bring to the Michigan community before I left, hoping to leave a mark and create an annual giving opportunity for Michigan Athletics."
By working with the Community Action Network, Dyer partnered with the Green Baxter Court community in Ann Arbor to provide Thanksgiving food baskets for 23 families. Donations are made by faculty, staff and players, and the student-athletes then pack the items collectively. The food items in each basket include: potatoes, butternut squash, apples, stuffing mix, green beans, a soup, mac and cheese, cranberry sauce, pie crust, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and a gift card to buy their own turkey. In addition, the baskets were decorated and included special cards as well to complete them.
Dyer was instrumental in organizing the initial plans by designing spreadsheets, drafting emails and helping plan all the activities that went into making a successful service project. When reflecting on her initial efforts, Dyer expressed gratitude and joy to be able to contribute to her school community for her favorite holiday.
"I would say it makes me feel pretty grateful that I'm in a position and a part of a Michigan community that's willing to donate and help out," Dyer said. "With me loving Thanksgiving, I want everyone to love Thanksgiving as much as I do, so I'm definitely grateful that I'm in a position to carry on this tradition."
Helping Hands
However, with Dyer graduating from Michigan and taking a job in Philadelphia as the director of operations for a club lacrosse team, she needed some additional help this year to execute the second year of the Michigan Athletics Thanksgiving Food Drive. Caylie McMahon, a graduate-student goalkeeper on the field hockey team, and Stella Nolan, a junior attack on the women's lacrosse team, have taken larger roles this year to contribute to the overall cause.
McMahon and Dyer lived in the same dorm during their freshman year and also lived together in New York City over the summer, going into their senior year. With Dyer relocating to Philadelphia, McMahon was more than happy to provide support for the Thanksgiving Food Drive. She remembers always helping out at her local food pantry around the holidays after school growing up, so McMahon was excited to embark on another Thanksgiving service opportunity.
McMahon and Nolan are both members of the Michigan Student Athlete Advisory Committee and have used their positions to increase student-athlete involvement through various promotional efforts and activities. In addition, they gathered all the donations and helped organize rooms for the packing arrangements for the student-athletes. Nolan is the Community Engagement Head for the SAAC, and she used her position to help connect students and staff to the Thanksgiving Food Drive.
McMahon acknowledged the challenge of getting student-athletes to come in and help put the baskets together with their busy schedules. Still, she made it a focus to emphasize the level of impact they would be making and the rewarding feeling that comes with community service.
"It's just such a good outlet to give back to other people, and it really opens up your mind to how there's so much more to being a student athlete at Michigan than just being in the classroom or on the field, because we can impact so many people," said McMahon. "It kind of opens your mind to how lucky we are to have these resources to then give back to others. A lot of my teammates came, and to just do a good thing for someone else made them feel so much better and so much more motivated."
Despite being a couple of years younger than Dyer and McMahon, Nolan was motivated to get involved and make an impact.
"I felt a strong pull to get involved again because of how successful it was last year and how much it meant to my former teammate, Kaylee Dyer," she said. "Also, Thanksgiving is all about giving back. In high school, I helped create an organization that fundraised to provide meals for a local homeless shelter, and I loved that experience, so I was eager to contribute in any way I could."
Dyer was extremely grateful for the support offered by McMahon and Nolan in their efforts to gain more student-athlete involvement, adding that the increased student-athlete involvement this year was essential to allowing the Thanksgiving Food Drive to continue for its second year.
Gratitiude Fueling the Future
All three student-athletes are grateful to be in such a position where they can be leaders and contribute to the Ann Arbor community that has given them so much.
"It would be a waste for us not to use our platform and our resources, especially at Michigan, if we don't give back," McMahon said. "I feel like that's the whole point: to use our platform to help others and give back. So, just to be involved was awesome."
"Thanksgiving to me is all about giving thanks and giving back to the people who've helped along the way," said Nolan. "I feel so blessed to be at Michigan and to be part of such a strong, supportive community. That sense of connection is what made it so easy to rally people together to support families in the greater Washtenaw County area."
In a holiday that brings people together, these three student-athletes worked together for a cause that was bigger than themselves. For an idea that was rooted in family tradition, the Michigan Athletics Thanksgiving Food Drive has turned into a successful community initiative under the leadership of Dyer and help from McMahon and Nolan, with hopes of expanding to more Ann Arbor communities in the future. Their efforts are a prime example of the impact that student-athletes at Michigan can make outside of their sports. The initiative and generosity of Dyer, McMahon, and Nolan reflect the values of the University of Michigan, and their actions, along with those of the other Michigan Athletic faculty and student-athletes, helped leave a lasting impact on the Ann Arbor community.
