Junior offensive tackle volunteers at nursing homes, hospitals, churches and schools to give back to his community
LEXINGTON, Ky. –University of Kentucky junior offensive tackle Landon Young has been named to the Southeastern Conference Community Service Team, it was announced by the league office on Wednesday.
Young is one of the leaders for Kentucky football in terms of community service hours. Here are a few of his community service projects:
- Has visited a local nursing home several times, including a pre-Super Bowl party to give joy to the residents
- Guest speaker at local churches and elementary schools on seven different occasions, talking about life lessons, fighting through adversities, faith and football
- Volunteered at Habitat for Humanity
- Volunteered at Kentucky Children’s Hospital to visit patients and lift their spirits
- Helped decorate Lexington’s Hope Center – a recovery program for women, with Christmas decorations
- Volunteered with Lexington Christian Church to do yard work for members not physically able to take care of their yard
- As an animal science major, has volunteered his time for eight straight years at a veterinary clinic in Cynthiana, Kentucky
- Participated in a one-week service trip to the Ethiopia in May of 2019 where he helped delivered essential nutrition, supplies, hope and love to families living in Korah, a slum made up of all the trash accumulated in Addis Ababa … Visited an orphanage with approximately 80 children and took teenagers from Korah to play arcade games and see the Avengers movie. The teens had never been out of their village, been in a movie theatre or even seen a movie … Paired with a feeding program that supplies meals to government schools in Cherkos, a poorer region in Addis Ababa. The program began as a result of kids fainting and lack of focus in the classroom due to malnutrition at home, often missing breakfast in the morning and at night only leaving them with one meal per day … Helped served meals to the kids during lunch and played in the schoolyard during recess.
For his work in the community, Young has also been named one of just 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision to the 2019 Allstate AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) Good Works Team®, an annual award given to college football players for the impact they make off the field. In addition, he was a nominee for the Wuerffel Trophy, given to college football’s top community servant.
In the classroom, Young is on track to graduate in December with a degree in animal sciences with hopes of one day becoming a veterinarian.
After missing the 2018 season with a torn ACL suffered in preseason practice, Young returned to the playing field with a vengeance and has been an integral part of the Big Blue Wall, helping pave the way for one of the most dangerous ground games in America. The Wildcats have rushed for 3,293 yards, a new single-season record, and they currently lead the SEC and rank in the top five nationally in rushing yards per game (274.4) and yards per carry (6.36). Behind Young and the Big Blue Wall, four players have rushed for more than 500 yards this season in running back quarterback Lynn Bowden Jr., and running backs Christopher Rodriguez Jr., A.J. Rose and Kavosiey Smoke, including three with over 600 yards (Bowden, Rose, Smoke).