The Texas Wesleyan University men's soccer team took part in Compass Church of Colleyville's 500K Meal Marathon on Saturday, Sept. 13.

The Rams, who returned from their Houston road trip in the very early hours Saturday morning, volunteered to help Compass Church not only meet, but exceed their goal of putting together 500,000 meals that will be sent to people in need in Haiti.

Volunteers helped pack, weigh, seal and box meals that will be delivered to Lifeline Christian Mission in Haiti and distributed to their schools and nutrition programs. The rice-based meals included soy and vegetables and provide about 75 percent of a child's daily healthy diet requirement.

"The boys did an excellent job with this project," commented head coach Tyler Powell. "Many of them returned from our Houston trip at 3:30 a.m. and turned around and gave back the next day."

"It was a remarkable experience," said senior midfielder Edvaldo Pedro, "one which we would gladly be a part of again."

Junior defender Cody Marlow said, "It was an intrinsically rewarding experience that we were proud to be a part of."

"This hits close to home for a lot of our guys," Powell continued. "Many of our players are from places that go through the same issues of lack of food, nutrition, etc., much like Haiti."

Texas Wesleyan men's soccer alumnus Jack Shay was pleased to see his alma mater giving back. "I worked at Compass Church this weekend. It was really cool to see the Texas Wesleyan men's soccer team there."

The Rams will return to action on Saturday, when they host Paul Quinn College. That game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at Martin Field.