When Cal Athletics revisited how it manages community engagement and student-athlete involvement, the goal was clear: create a seamless, student-friendly experience while giving staff instant access to reliable data.
In their first year using Helper Helper, the Cameron Institute for Student-Athlete Development has already seen strong adoption, meaningful engagement, and measurable impact.
About the Cameron Institute
The Cameron Institute for Student-Athlete Development aims to be a world-class model for developing student-athletes to thrive during their time at Cal and beyond. Through its original framework, The California Way, student-athletes are supported across three core pillars:
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Career Development
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Community Engagement
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Mental Performance
Programming is delivered through 1:1 sessions, classes-for-credit, team sessions, alumni and employee engagement, and online platforms — all designed to support holistic development.
Why Cal Revisited Their Platform
As Cal evaluated how to best support community engagement, usability and efficiency were top priorities.
They needed:
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A user-friendly experience for student-athletes
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A single system of record for tracking hours and participation
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Fast, reliable reporting for leadership, coaches, and external needs
Helper Helper stood out for its intuitive design and ability to consolidate sign-ups, tracking, and reporting into one platform.
Our most important requirements were having a space that provided a user-friendly experience for student-athletes and a reliable way for staff to quickly access data when it was needed.
Seamless Adoption for Student-Athletes
To ease onboarding, the Cameron Institute integrated Helper Helper using single sign-on with UC Berkeley credentials, allowing student-athletes to log in instantly without creating new accounts.
Student-athletes can:
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Browse community engagement and Cameron Institute–supported events
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Sign up for opportunities alongside teammates
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Track hours independently
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Check in using event links and QR codes
The result? 35% of Cal student-athletes adopted the platform in its first year, with momentum continuing to build.
There’s always a learning curve with a new system, but it was worth the investment. I found it very easy to get started and set up, so student-athletes could start using it as soon as they returned to campus.
Replacing Spreadsheets with Real-Time Insight
One of the biggest operational wins for Cal was eliminating manual tracking.
With Helper Helper, staff can:
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Pull team and individual reports in minutes
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Access rankings and leaderboards in real time
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Eliminate recurring spreadsheet sign-ups
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Create recurring opportunities in a single system
Being able to pull data quickly and reference our team rankings within minutes has been a game-changer in our day-to-day.
These insights support everything from recognition and nominations to recruiting and leadership updates.
Driving Engagement Across Campus
Helper Helper is currently used across multiple initiatives at Cal. To date, Cal student-athletes have logged 2,984 hours of service, all tracked in one centralized platform.
Leaderboards and visibility into who’s attending events have also helped encourage participation and has been a wonderful selling point for SAAC.
Sharing Impact with Stakeholders
Beyond internal efficiency, reporting has become a powerful storytelling tool.
The reports have been great to share with donors, prospective students, athletics leadership, and coaches.
Having accurate, ready-to-share data has helped Cal showcase the full scope of student-athlete engagement in the community.
Looking Ahead
As Cal continues to expand its use of Helper Helper, the focus remains on flexibility and continued improvement.
The only thing I hope for in the future is that student-athletes can sign up or show interest in an event without a specific date — especially for opportunities that require multiple layers of coordination.