Earlier this week, 15,000 fans turned out to congratulate the Minnesota Lynx on their first WNBA championship title. While winning a national championship is of course a great achievement in itself, the Minnesota Lynx also deserve recognition for the work they are doing outside of the WNBA, for the betterment of our community.

One day after winning Game 1 against the Atlanta Dream, members of the Lynx hit the court again to help kids get excited about the importance of staying active and healthy, as a part of the Dribble to Stop Diabetes WNBA FIT Clinic.

Childhood obesity is an ongoing and pressing problem in the U.S. It is commendable that members of the team took the afternoon to help 75 kids get moving and work on their basketball skills in the middle of the high-stress WNBA finals series.

In a time where many professional sports organizations operate as if they are large corporations âÄî engaging in lockouts over how many millions of dollars players and owners should receive or battles over new mega-stadiums âÄî one would be hard-pressed to find any other team doing such philanthropic work during a championship series.

The work the Lynx are doing is as great for the community as bringing home a title. It is important for sports teams to remember they are role models and can benefit the lives of others, as the Lynx have done.