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LAX for Love BY BLAIR WEYMOUTH MONACO
Three years ago, I made the suggestion to dedicate a spring game to my former U.Va. teammate, Yeardley Love. I ENVISIONED A FEW POSTERS hanging around campus; I’d say a few words before our lacrosse game; we’d play our game, and that would be the end of it. What started as this small way to remember a teammate has now become a community-wide event which remains a staple in our spring lacrosse program: Lax for Love. Relationship violence meant almost nothing to me until May 2010, when Yeardley’s life was taken. I’d heard the words before, but I never grasped their meaning. No one ever spoke to me about the statistics or the warning signs—I knew next to nothing. Likewise, neither did Sharon or Lexie Love, Yeardley’s mother and sister. What we’ve all learned as a result of Yeardley’s untimely death is that relationship violence is living in the shadows all around us, and it is our responsibility, and the One Love Foundation’s mission, to shed light on the topic. Created by Sharon and Lexie Love in honor of Yeardley, The One Love Foundation is “educating, empowering, and activating young people in a movement to end relationship violence.” In an effort to spread awareness on our campus, we engaged our Upper and Middle School students in discussions to learn about relationship violence and understand how real it is in our everyday lives. Our Middle School faculty dedicated time in advisory groups where
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our students created public service announcement posters; seniors led an Upper School chapel on relationship violence, and the Varsity Lacrosse teams hosted a dinner for our senior lacrosse players to informally discuss the relevance of this silent topic as they embark on their first year of college. On April 11, the Norfolk Academy girls and boys lacrosse teams came together to celebrate the third annual Lax for Love event in honor of Yeardley and the One Love Foundation. Raising over $11,000 for the One Love Foundation, this event brought together twenty regional lacrosse teams to play the game that Yeardley loved. Thanks to events like ours, Sharon Love states, “You are the ones who have helped us believe that our vision for change is attainable.” Thank you to both the Norfolk Academy and the Hampton Roads’ lacrosse communities for their support. Empowering and educating our young adults to be advocates for themselves and others is critical to shattering the silence and keeping this movement alive. Thank you to everyone who has helped out, spoken up, and donated to the One Love Foundation. I am proud to work in a place that cares so deeply and seeks not only to understand the issues, but also to partake in the cause. ◆ Blair Weymouth Monaco teaches English in the Middle School and is the Head Coach of the Varsity Girls Lacrosse team.
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