WINONA, Minn. – Winona State University Athletics was recognized nationally for community service engagement by HelperHelper in the 2025-26 NCAA Community Engagement Report.

Winona State finished19th among all NCAA Division II athletic departments participating in HelperHelper. This made WSU the highest ranked Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference school on the list. Main community service projects throughout the year included Trick-or-Treat for Cans and Warriors Got Talent. Student-athletes from all 15 Winona State programs took part in service activities in Winona and the surrounding region.

The following Warrior programs were recognized as top DII teams on HelperHelper: gymnastics (1st) under the "Wild Card" category, volleyball (2nd), women's basketball (3rd), and baseball (7th).

Deputy Athletic Director and Senior Women Administrator Melanie Brunsdon noted, "Our student-athletes continue to go above and beyond in everything they do. We are excited to be named in the Top 20 overall and Top 10 in a few of our sports, but recognition is secondary to giving back to the community that supports us. Thank you to our area partners who provide opportunities and our student-athletes for making the time in their schedules to volunteer their time."

As a department, Winona State logged 5,331 volunteer hours in HelperHelper with an economic impact of $192,667. In total, 57,858 NCAA student-athletes tallied 637,205 hours for an economic impact of over $23 million.

The mission of HelperHelper is to enhance the community service outreach programs of educational institutions by giving schools the tools to better plan, manage and track the volunteer efforts of their students.  HelperHelper's goal is to help organizations build a better community outreach program.