Manny Camper has been doing whatever he can during these uncertain times to stay ready. If opportunities present themselves for the Siena men's basketball junior to work out for NBA teams after he declared for the league's draft last week, the 6-foot-7 Camper wants to make sure he's prepared to take advantage of them.

But he's home, too, in Chestertown, Maryland. That — home — is a rare place for a Division I basketball player to be at any point in the year, as college basketball players usually are on campus, even during their offseason.

And knowing that Camper was home meant that Paul Tue — a close family friend of the Campers that Manny refers to as his "Uncle Paul" — knew Camper could be counted on to come help out. Tue is a co-chair for the Social Action Committee for Racial Justice, a group that has spearheaded a program along with Kent County Schools and various other groups that delivers food to kids and senior-citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic that has shut down schools. Tue has enlisted Camper multiple times since Camper made it home last month to help unpack, distribute and deliver food as part of the program, and Tue said he plans to continue to make use of Camper's help based off the All-MAAC first-team selection's response when first contacted about volunteering

"He told me, 'Unc, whatever you need, I'm there,'" Tue said in a recent phone interview.

So while Camper was getting set to declare last week for the NBA draft, he spent a portion of his week helping to unload a 15-ton Sysco truck of food. Wearing protective gloves and a mask, Camper worked alongside a host of other volunteers to make that happen. Additionally, Camper has also helped get food to distribution sites and helped bring food to people who couldn't make it to the pick-up sites throughout Kent County. With leftover food after deliveries were made, Camper was part of a crew that knocked on doors to see if anyone else needed anything as part of a 10-hour volunteering stint.

"We're just trying to get out there and help anyone that's struggling," Camper, a Siena co-captain last season, said.

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