CINCINNATI, Ohio – Mount St. Joseph men's and women's lacrosse teams, set to host fundraiser game for One Love Foundation on March 4
th.
The One Love Foundation was founded to honor the life of University of Virginia women's lacrosse player Yeardley Love, who on March 3, 2010 passed away after being beaten to death by an ex-boyfriend. At the time Love was just three weeks shy of graduating from the University of Virginia.
In the grieving process, Yeardley's mother Sharon and sister Lexie founded The One Love Foundation, which is an organization that empowers young people with the knowledge to identify and avoid abusive relationships. In the subsequent years, One Love has become a national leader in preventing relationship violence and abuse.
"Having these One Love games and bringing awareness to this foundation means so much to not only myself but to the teams as well," said MSJ women's lacrosse head coach
Casey Monahan. "Relationship abuse isn't just physical. Many people struggle to recognize what an unhealthy relationship looks like because they lack the education. Love is truly learned and One Love is taking huge strides in educating individuals on what healthy love looks like and how to recognize the signs of abuse. In working with One Love our lacrosse programs have already learned so much about how love should and should not look."
When asked why the One Love games are important, MSJ senior defender
Cecilia Horn had this to say, "The One Love games are important because the more educated we are, the better we can understand the signs of a potentially abusive relationship. EVERYONE deserves healthy love!"
Freshman midfielder Kat Gillman added, "I believe One Love is so important because it reminds and teaches everyone that we don't have to suffer in silence, and that there are always other people in the world or close to us that understand what it's like to be in an unpleasant situation. This foundation gives those people a voice and the ability to stand up and be heard."
During the March 4 lacrosse double-header, the MSJ women's team will host Bethel University at 1:00 PM while the men's team hosts Marian University at 4:00 PM. All proceeds from that day's games will be donated to the One Love Foundation.
If you would like to know more about The One Love Foundation or would like to make a donation, visit joinonelove.org.
