Alabama Softball Impacts Community with Toys for Tots Shopping Spree
Ahead of the holiday season, the Alabama softball team partnered with West Shore Home, an official Alabama athletics partner, to host a Toys for Tots shopping spree at Academy Sports in Tuscaloosa on Thursday.
Standouts like Audrey Vandagriff, Vic Moten, Kaitlyn Pollozzi, and Jocelyn Briski were in attendance to support their community. They were given a budget by West Shore Home and sent on a mission to purchase toys and sports items that would be delivered to children in West Alabama who are in need this time of year.
Head coach Patrick Murphy and Alabama athletics emphasize the importance of community service throughout the year, holding various events such as canned food drives, reading to children at school, and visiting patients in hospitals.
The team recently held its annual Halloween Extravaganza, where kids of all ages came to Hank Crisp Indoor Practice Facility to hang out with the team. The event also served as a canned food drive for the West Alabama Food Bank’s “Beat Auburn Beat Hunger” campaign.
Vandagriff, the Georgia native, was thrilled to make a meaningful impact while shopping for an area she now calls home.
“As I’ve grown and kind of see the way kids look up to Alabama and the community, to know that I’m one of those people is honestly a tremendous honor,” Vandagriff told WBRC 6 News. “To give back to them and make them smile and laugh and play with friends and family is so relieving and such a blessing.”
Through West Shore Home’s partnership with Toys for Tots, they expect to support about 6,000 kids in seven different regions throughout Alabama. Michael Ford, the general manager of West Shore Home, is grateful for the university and the continued support from the softball program.
“You know, it doesn’t happen without them,” Ford told WBRC 6 News. “So we really want to say thanks to all those who allow us to be a part of this and help the kids this season.”
Alabama has been recognized in the past for its service efforts. In 2025, senior Catelyn Riley was named to the SEC’s Softball Community Service Team for her continued support of her community beyond the diamond. She visited classrooms at the Tuscaloosa Magnet School, reading books to children and teaching them about the benefits of physical activity and being a student-athlete. She also spent time at the Manderson Cancer Center in Tuscaloosa, visiting with patients who were undergoing chemotherapy.
While the softball team is certainly impacting the Tuscaloosa area, their efforts displayed to the world could make a national influence.
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Nicole Reitz graduated from Indiana University Indianapolis with a degree in sports journalism in 2022 and has been writing about softball and baseball since 2018 .Her work has been published in various publications like Softball America, the Indianapolis Star, and SoxOn35th.
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