Lacrosse the Nations unifies the lacrosse community to sustainably improve education and health while creating hope and opportunity for children in need.
Vision
Lacrosse is the conduit by which we achieve our mission of improving the lives of children in need across the globe. Our program uses the lacrosse field as a platform to teach students valuable life skills and health education. Our holistic approach includes lacrosse as a PE and afterschool program, developing and implementing a Life Skills Curriculum, a breakfast nutrition program, monthly field trip rewards to foster enrollment and attendance, and a Coaches’ Scholarship Program for continuing education. Go here to read more about each element of our program.
We believe that even while surviving in extreme poverty, people can have incredible humility, dignity and generosity of spirit. We listen to them to learn about their greatest needs in hope to create sustainable change to alleviate the pressures of poverty. Our first program in Nicaragua is a learning and piloting opportunity to determine the most successful model for our lacrosse programs. This program will be scalable and replicable as we establish new program sites both internationally and domestically.
Core Values
- Unity: Autonomous leadership and unified strength.
- We engage the lacrosse community as ‘ambassadors of hope’ to invite them to join with us to use the power and unity of the game to serve those in need.
- By bridging the US lacrosse community to local and international communities in need, both are enriched by Lacrosse the Nations.
- Education and Health: Teaching and learning mental, physical, and emotional well being.
- Supporting the connection between health and education, we partner with schools to teach basic nutrition and health, self-esteem, and the value of education.
- We strive to improve educational enrollment, attendance and graduation rates.
- Sustainability: Researching and developing community relationships.
- We empower local communities to take ownership of programs to instill permanent, positive change.
- We establish sustainable and culturally relevant programs by listening humbly to local communities and training leaders from within the community to run the program.
- We track, assess, and report on a timely basis to evaluate and improve the success of our program.
- Hope and Opportunity: Where there is hope there is a future.
- We foster valuable mentor relationships that teach character and critical life skills on and off the playing field.
- We provide the opportunity for kids to be kids, helping them to thrive, not just survive.
©2009-10 LACROSSE THE NATIONS