Tag Archives: charity

In Support of National Indigenous History Month in Canada NLL Launches ‘Every Child Matters’ Auction

The National Lacrosse League (@NLL), the largest and most successful professional lacrosse property in the world, today announced its continued and expanded support for the “Every Child Matters” movement during National Indigenous History Month in Canada.

“Every Child Matters” is an initiative bringing awareness to the forcible placement of Indigenous children in residential and boarding schools by the Canadian and United States governments from the 19th century to as recently as 1996 in Canada so that these mistakes are not repeated.

Fans and anyone who wants to support the initiative can bid on team-signed merchandise from NLL teams starting today through Friday, June 30, 2023, at 5pm ET. To bid on the items, fans can visit https://www.nll.com/auctions.

All funds raised from the “Every Child Matters” auction will be split evenly between the NLL’s two non-profit partners, the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund in Canada, and the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition in the United States.

Available items range from team-signed “Every Child Matters” t-shirts to the Vancouver Warriors’ First Nations Night theme jersey.

The “Every Child Matters” logo was designed by Indigenous artist, Justin Gilbert of Kuvua Designs. The Warriors’ uniform, worn during its January 28th game against the Panther City Lacrosse Club, was designed by Heiltsuk artist, K.C. Hall.

The 2022-23 season marked the second consecutive year the NLL prominently featured the “Every Child Matters” movement across North America. For three weeks in January and February, every NLL team wore “Every Child Matters”-themed warmups and added a campaign-branded helmet decal for games. During halftime of each broadcasts, special segments ran discussing this topic and others relating to Indigenous populations across Canada and the United States.

Fans can still purchase “Every Child Matters” t-shirts through the NLL’s official online stores, NLLShop.com and NLLStore.ca powered by Fanatics. For every t-shirt sold, the NLL will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund and The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.

About the National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is North America’s premier professional lacrosse league. Founded in 1986, the League is comprised of 15 franchises across the United States and Canada: Albany FireWolves, Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Georgia Swarm, Halifax Thunderbirds, Las Vegas Desert Dogs, New York Riptide, Panther City Lacrosse Club (TX), Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks, San Diego Seals, Saskatchewan Rush, Toronto Rock, and Vancouver Warriors.

For more information, visit NLL.com and find @NLL on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

Image Courtesy NLL/Vancouver Warriors

2022 AKTIV Against Cancer Award Luncheon Honors adidas, Lowe Nov. 3 in N.Y.

AKTIV Against Cancer, the organization co-founded by legendary runner Grete Waitz and Helle Aanesen, today announced it will honor adidas and Olympic Champion Chaunté Lowe for outstanding contributions to the field of Exercise Oncology at their eighth annual awards luncheon. The reception will be held November 3 at the historic New York Athletic Club.

Over more than 10 years of collaboration, adidas has accounted for more than $10M in donations toward AKTIV Against Cancer’s groundbreaking exercise oncology research and programs. United by the power of sport, the two organizations have worked together to help those fighting cancer improve their quality of life through physical activity.

“adidas has been an incredible supporter of AKTIV Against Cancer since our inception and has always embodied our mission to the highest degree,” said AKTIV Against Cancer CEO Helle Aanesen. “We simply couldn’t have done what we have done without adidas. There is no one better to honor than Grete’s longtime sponsor and our biggest believer, adidas.”

AKTIV Against Cancer’s partnership with adidas was born out of adidas’ relationship with the late Grete, who passed away in 2011. Grete had a storied history with adidas during her ground-breaking long-distance running career, having worn and promoted its apparel and footwear for more than 30 years.

“At adidas, we believe sport has the power to change lives, and few athletes have personified that motto as thoroughly as Grete Waitz,” said Adrian Leek, Sportswear & Footwear Vice President at adidas. “Our partnership with AKTIV Against Cancer represents our gratitude for everything Grete accomplished during her remarkable life, and we are proud to supported such a great cause for more than a decade.”

Additionally, AKTIV Against Cancer will honor four-time Olympian, 2008 Olympic bronze medalist and former high jump world champion Chaunté Lowe with the Gabrielle Grunewald Inspiration Award for her courage and her dedication to expanding resources and support for others fighting breast cancer. Lowe is a Global Ambassador for the American Cancer Society and a spokesperson for a new partnership between pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and patient advocacy group Susan G. Komen.

Since 2015, AKTIV Against Cancer has hosted the AKTIV Against Cancer Award Luncheon in an effort to continuously honor the legacy of the co-founder, the late Grete Waitz. The award recognizes leaders who demonstrate great philanthropic efforts using health and fitness as a platform – a belief that was instrumental to Grete and at the core of AKTIV Against Cancer’s mission.

Mary Wittenberg, Global CEO of Virgin Sport, received the inaugural award in 2015 and running legend Meb Keflezighi received it in 2016. In 2017, AKTIV Against Cancer honored The Rudin Family for their long-standing commitment to the TCS New York City Marathon and the late professional runner Gabriele Grunewald for her commitment to continue running through her cancer and inspiring many to be physically active through treatments.

More recently, the organization honored Olympic Champion and cancer survivor Kikkan Randall and Dr. Jordan Metzl in 2018, Chip Gaines, Jeff Rochford & Aubrey Barr in 2019, Shannon Miller in 2020, and Cycle For Survival co-founder David Linn in 2021.

For more information about AKTIV Against Cancer please visit www.aktivagainstcancer.org/award

Stars Including Ferguson, Press Come Out To Mark World Aids Day At Grassroot Soccer Charity Gala

To mark today’s World AIDS Day, celebrities, footballers, and leaders in business and media came together on Tuesday to support a fundraising gala evening for international football/soccer charity Grassroot Soccer (@GrassrootSoccer) at Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan. The international charity has used soccer/football as a platform to educate over 13 million young people in 60 countries around the world about health issues, including the dangers and preventative measures of one of the greatest health challenges in Africa: HIV/AIDS. The evening raised an estimated more than $1.4 million for the organization.

Among the standout dignitaries on hand were Sir Alex Ferguson, CBE, Legendary Football Manager; Christen Press, 2x World Champion with the US Women’s National Team; Ethan Zohn, Grassroot Soccer Co-Founder and winner of “Survivor Africa”; Dr. Tommy Clark, GRS Founder and CEO; Seth Meyers, television host, TV personality; Kweku Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela; and many others.

“To be able to bring everyone here to New York City for Giving Tuesday and World Aids day is just an incredible feeling,” said Zohn. “We’ve all been locked down and in isolation for a really long time so it just feels really good to bring everyone together to celebrate the beautiful sport of soccer and the incredible things we are doing around the world.”

“Soccer is without question the biggest sport in the world,” said Ferguson. “Grassroot Soccer is using the sport as a template to impact the most people. What Tommy Clark has undertaken is a fantastic challenge, and for me, it’s easy to get involved in something which is so honest and benefits so many in poverty.”

“It’s really nice I have friends who are involved with the event who reached out and when they explained what Grassroot was it was a no brainer,” added Meyers. “Then, to have soccer royalty on the scene, it’s a great way to spend an evening.”

Other notable guests included Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka, Former UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, Founder Of Umlambo Foundation; Roger Bennett, Writer, Broadcaster, Filmmaker, and Co-Host of NBC’s Men In Blazers Show; GoldFish (Dominic Peters & David Poole), DJ duo; Fiona Ferguson, GRS Champion; Gregg Lemkau, GRS Champion and former board member; Kyle Martino, MLS commentator, former USA and MLS Soccer star; Hamza Syed, Host & Producer of New York Times Serial Podcast; and Jason Feitelberg, Head of Investment at Sterling Resources.

The event provided guests the opportunity to learn about Grassroot Soccer’s vital programs in Africa to educate and inspire young people to live healthier lives and give them hope for the future.

There was fierce bidding in the silent auction. Among the hottest prizes of the night were VIP tickets to the Late Show with Seth Meyers, a Chelsea FC matchday experience including a post-game meet and greet with Christian Pulisic, a dinner party with former Obama White House chef Sam Kass, and a signed print from artist Andre Saraiva.

Grassrooot Soccer has provided health education, access to testing, and support for treatment to over 150,000 young people in the past year, with programs in countries with the highest levels of HIV in the world, including its flagship projects in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, plus other nations with a high HIV rate such as Nigeria, Malawi, and many more.

“It’s amazing to see this,” added Clark. “A couple of reasons why I think it’s been successful is I think it’s a simple idea, it’s a good idea, but I think it’s the hard work of a lot of people if you really really think about it.”