Ashtin Hyde
Staff Writer
Shorter students are yet again making an impact within the community, but this time it is with pairs of shoes. On Wednesday March 25, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. our men’s lacrosse team partnered with Lace Up With Lax for the first time ever in the effort to make a difference. Lace Up With Lax is a national organization that works to define the legacy of lacrosse players off of the field. It does this by joining with both high school and college lacrosse teams to collect shoes to give to children who are homeless or in need. This mission not only brings local children joy and hope, but it more importantly works to give them a brighter future.
“I think it is so important for us to give to those in need, especially when they are right in our back yard,” said Senior Woman Administrator Jordan Green. Green worked with Jason Childs, the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team, as the point of contact for this event and also as one of the minds behind organizing and making this event possible.
For Lace Up With Lax the ultimate goal is to help end the seemingly continuous cycle of homelessness. The lacrosse team encouraged fans to have that same goal as they came to the game. The players and coaches themselves then set their own personal goal of collecting at least 50 pairs of shoes to donate.
For the week leading up to the game students, faculty, staff and fans were encouraged to attend the home game against Colorado Mesa University and bring a pair of shoes with them to contribute to this great cause. The shoes were to be new, sizes 3-8 and would be donated to children around the community, specifically within the Rome city school system.
As the sun went down at Ben Brady Field the fans packed the stands, as well as the boxes reading “Lace Up With Lax” on the front. Throughout the game more and more people came and more and more pairs of shoes appeared in the boxes. Near the end of the game Green collected the boxes and after the count found that 55 pairs of shoes were collected.
“The fact that we broke our goal was a huge accomplishment,” said junior sports management major JC Vandenbrink. “The more kid’s around Rome that we can impact and give to, the better.”
Zach Dirkse, also a junior sports management major agreed with Vandenbrink by saying, “It felt really good to be able to influence the community and to help out those around us. Lace Up With Lax is a great organization that is getting bigger each day. I feel honored to have been a part of such a great cause.”
Although our guys fell to Colorado Mesa University 7-9 on the night of this event, the night was still a success. Players, coaches, and fans left with the victory and satisfaction of knowing that they had helped impact the lives of 55 children around the Rome community.
“Coach Jason Childs does a great job of finding ways we can impact our community,” said Green in response to the great result of our Lace Up With Lax game. “I am really proud of our Shorter family for donating enough shoes to exceed our goal and for caring about those around us.”
