Harvard Lacrosse BLM Fundraiser - Harlem Lacrosse
As Martin Luther King noted, “The time is always right to do what is right,” and today the time is especially right. Across the country people of all races, sexes, genders, and beliefs have rallied together to protest police brutality and racism after the murder of George Floyd.
As people struggle with how to begin a movement for social justice and change, many have used Social Media to share educational posts, highlight people’s stories, and to show solidarity with the movement.
To enhance our individual efforts to start making change, Harvard Lacrosse has come together to rally to try and do more.
We have begun meeting as individual teams to discuss racial inequalities and see what we can do on a micro and macro level to make an impact. We want to use our Social Media platforms to act now and to encourage others to do the same to raise awareness for the Black Lives Matter movement and simultaneously support various charities targeting these marginalized communities.
We’ve followed Harvard Soccer with their initiative to set up a three-step plan that we also believe could lead to monumental change within the Harvard Community and beyond.
1. Listen
We have committed ourselves to listening to the black stories within and outside of the Harvard community through team and community conversations. We hope that by listening and sharing, we can deepen our education on the racial injustices in our country.
2. Donate
Harvard Men’s Lacrosse asks their alumni, fans, student-athletes and supporters to donate on behalf of the Boston Chapter of Harlem Lacrosse to help them extend their outreach and athletic/academic support services. Harvard Men’s Lacrosse has been partnered with Harlem Lacrosse for several year and look
forward to broadening and deepening our connection to their student-athletes
Harvard Women’s Lacrosse is asking for support of the Blacks Girls Smile foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on ensuring all young African American females receive the resources and support necessary to lead mentally healthy lives and feel empowered to take ownership of their mental health and stability.
Our goal is garner support from 846 unique donors—per initiative-- in memory of George Floyd’s last 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
3. Engage
We have partnered with Harlem Lacrosse, an organization that helps foster an environment that inspires at-risk youth to use lacrosse as a means to stay active and engage with their community. Harlem Lacrosse works to empower the children who are most at risk for academic decline and dropout to rise above their challenges and reach their full potential.
Thank you, Harvard Soccer, for the nomination in efforts to support the Black Lives Matter Movement. We would like to continue support by nominating Harvard Basketball and Harvard Softball to match our number of participants and join us for a greater change.
Thank you for all of your continued support of Harvard Lacrosse!
Harvard Lacrosse
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