Cochran, GA – MGA Athletics and the Bleckley County Family and Students Together (FAST) program are proud to announce a community service partnership for the 24-25 academic year. The partnership provides MGA athletes to act as mentors for primary and elementary school students.

MGA Athletic Director Michael Brown, a Cochran resident himself, is grateful for a community partner like the Bleckley County Board of Education and their openness to this type of service opportunity.

"Serving our community and partnering with an amazing program like FAST is at the heart of what we want our student-athletes learning and experiencing during their time as Knights. Providing assistance with programming that serves children and their parents at the Bleckley County primary and elementary schools is a great opportunity for our athletic teams to engage with our community beyond the footprint of our Cochran campus," said Brown.

MGA athletic teams such as the men's basketball program have been previously involved with the FAST program including recently volunteering for the FAST kickoff event last week. Building these relationships have led to an expanded opportunity for MGA student-athletes, coaches and staff to make an impact with the program.

"We are thrilled to announce our partnership with the Athletic Department at Middle Georgia State University. The athletic teams at MGA have graciously agreed to take part in our kid times during the upcoming FAST cycles for both Bleckley County Primary School and Bleckley County Elementary School. As coordinators for FAST, we feel that involving the teams will not only offer our students role models but will also potentially motivate them to aspire to become college athletes or students themselves. We are so appreciative to the coaches, players, and Athletic Director Michael Brown for providing this wonderful opportunity for our families," said Vonda Bryant, FAST Program Coordinator.

Each MGA athletic team based at the Cochran campus will have an opportunity to work with the children and families of the FAST program throughout the 24-25 academic year including their first service appearance beginning on September 3^rd by the men's soccer program.

The Athletic Department looks forward to announcing other community partnerships soon including opportunities for the athletic programs at the Macon campus to impact their local community.