Gator gymnast Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto receives UF Presidential Service Award
Tuesday, March 31, 2015 | Gymnastics
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - University of Florida junior gymnast Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto is a recipient of a 2014-15 Presidential Service Award. She joined the other honorees Tuesday evening at the Former UF President's Home for the reception.
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Two Florida student-athletes who received the UF Presidential Service Award watch as a pair of Climb for Cancer participants work on their footwork at the 2014 event. Football's Michael McNeely (left) received the honor in 2013-14 and gymnast Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto is a 2014-15 honoree. |
About the Award:
The Presidential Service Award recognizes students who have made outstanding efforts towards community service and too often go unrecognized and unrewarded for their selfless labor.
Dancose-Giambattisto is the third Gator student-athlete to receive this honor. Football's Michael McNeely and track & field's Brittany Koziara were honored at the 2014 reception. This is the third year for the Presidential Service Award.
Her volunteer contributions:
Since August of 2013, Dancose-Giambattisto has accumulated a total of more than 227 hours of community service, including more than 160 hours with the Florida Diabetes Camp in the summer of 2014. She also attended a 10-day camp in early August of 2014. The Florida Diabetes Camp focus is to provide a fun camping experience, within a safe medical environment, for children with type 1 diabetes. She was responsible for monitoring the medical needs of her campers, including glucose testing, insulin delivery and treating hypoglycemia.
She also volunteered at Balance 180 Gymnastics & Sports Academy as coach during the summer of 2014. Balance 180 Gymnastics is a gymnasium for children, most of which have some sort of disability. Dancose-Giambattisto is a program coordinator for Gator Move, which is a program aimed at getting elementary students more active before school begins. She also volunteered at UF Health by visiting patients and spending time with the children in the pediatric unit, as well as participating in Caleb's Pitch Syringe Art Painting.
In addition, Dancose-Giambattisto has joined her teammates in events aimed to bring awareness to the fight against breast cancer. The Gators gymnastics team spends much of the year committed to this cause as they participate in walks such as the "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Awareness Walk" in October of 2014, which aims to encourage survivors to unite for those afflicted. Dancose-Giambattisto joined the Gator gymnastics team as they visited and shared stories with Hope Lodge residents each of the last three years. The Hope Lodge is a residence for cancer patients to stay while being treated at UF's Shands Hospital.
The team also sponsored the Harvest Food Drive again in the fall of 2014, an event where aspiring gymnasts can join the Gators for an afternoon gymnastics clinic. Admission is five canned food items and more than 1,000 pounds of food items were contributed to a local food bank after the 2014 event.
