Number of Participants: 19
Hours Donated: 10
Value of Time Served: $1,606
Event Type: Children & Youth
Activity: Cheerleading
Date: January 14, 2022
Location:
Masconomet Regional School District
Endicott Road, Boxford
MA
About:
We had our whole program assist with spreading the word about our Holiday Drive, so 19 athletes total, as well as assistance from parents.
It’s hard to put an exact number on hours, but we actively ran the drive from 11/2/21 to 11/12/21.
Athletes helped by spreading the word about our drive, collecting donations, and organizing the items. Our senior cheerleaders had one extra responsibility and helped me deliver the items to the HAWC office! Parents of our athletes were also a huge help in spreading the word and gathering items from friends, families, and co-workers. We also had a donation table at one of our last home games of the season which was a great success.
As a coach, I try to instill in our athletes the importance of giving back and love to have them involved with philanthropic work. I fully believe athletes should support a full triangle of athletics, academics, and community service.
In the past, we have participated in, and raised funds for, the CareDimensions Walk for Hospice, The AFSP Out of Darkness Walk, and the ALZ Walk to End Alzheimer’s. We have been recognized on the National level for our work byCheer teams efforts w/ HAWC holiday drive the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) in 2018 with the GoBeGreat Award.
With COVID-19, we were unable to participate in these events for the 2020-2021 year, and most events were altered/we were not able to participate in this year. Although we were unable to make our prior community service events work, I knew I still wanted to do something with the program to give back.
After reading about the rise in domestic violence throughout the pandemic, HAWC came to my mind. I actually interned with HAWC while I was in college, so I already knew a bit about their organization and mission. HAWC is “committed to ending the domestic violence epidemic, educating the community, and offering help for abused women, children, men in Massachusetts.”
I reached out and was able to connect with their manager and we were able to get this drive organized. It was great being able to work with HAWC, because not only were we able to give back and support our community, but we were also able to inform our community about HAWC and all that they do.
