There is an old saying in baseball that says a "can of corn" is symbolic for an easy catch of a pop fly to the infield or outfield.

But there isn't anything easy about harvesting 15,000 ears of corn, which is what ten University of Hawai`i Hilo student-athletes and coaches did on Friday. The Vulcans partnered with the California & Hawai`i Foilage Growers to pick and harvest the corn. It will be delivered to a local food bank on Monday.

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the Vulcan harvesters were limited to a team of ten, which included softball coach Callen Perreira, baseball coach Kallen Miyataki and women's basketball coach David Kaneshiro. Student-athletes involved were Shelby Graber and Carolina Alfonsin from the women's tennis team, Skylar Thomas (softball), Camille Strazzo and Macey Moen from the women's soccer team, Rustin Ho (baseball) and athletic director Patrick Guillen. 

"Thanks to Mark Akiyama and Enrique Martinez of CHFG for their wonderful collaboration with this project," said Guillen. "Their commitment to this and allowing us to participate in this project to benefit our community is a win-win for us all. It is a great way for our student-athletes to learn, especially for our Agriculture majors, and give back to the community.

"We anticipate being able to plant another crop in the future and have more student-athletes involved when the COVID guidelines allow."

Earlier in the week, UHH Agriculture majors Thomas and Kaleihalia Tolentino-Perry (men's soccer) visited the farm with Guillen. CHFG general manager Enrique Martinez, who has been a supporter of Vulcan athletics for many years, saw the collaboration as a way to help Vulcan student-athletes understand hard work of another kind.

"I often talk with Pat on ways that we might be able to get the students involved," Martinez said. "We appreciate the help, but I also think it is good for our young people to see how hard other people work. It is important to learn how to give back."

The Martinez family buys Vulcan season tickets every year to give out to employees. Currently, CHFG has 34 employees that harvest corn, cherry tomatoes, carrots and potatoes, to name a few. 

Vulcan student-athletes are scheduled to participate in a number of community service projects this Fall. Next up: The UHH women's soccer and women's tennis teams will work with the Hawaiian Island Home for Recovery this weekend, preparing and cooking meals for the homeless.