NEW YORK – Days before the start of the 2022-23 season, the Columbia women’s basketball program has announced a season-long “Support Black Women” campaign, which focuses on supporting Black women within its local Harlem community. The campaign was announced in a video posted by the team on Friday and is an extension of an initiative the Lions started last season.
“We thought it was important to continue our “Support Black Women” campaign,” senior Lilian Kennedy said. “Last year, we recognized that this was a mission we wanted to continue – we didn’t want to just have that stop last year. We think there are several more opportunities to show our support, such as inviting certain groups to our games, continuing to have Black-owned restaurants provide our pregame meals, and just championing and supporting them throughout the season.”
A large part of this year’s campaign is to use the team’s platform to support and grow local Black-women-owned businesses. During each home game, the team will highlight a local Black-women-owned business on the video board, providing fans with the business’s name, address and primary function. The Lions will also invite representatives from those businesses to attend their games. Each business was hand-picked by a member of the program.
“This team is process-oriented and our work is ongoing,” head coach Megan Griffith stated. “I’m proud to see that our players want to continue to use their platforms to make a sustainable impact in our greater community. Some new additions to our established campaign of Supporting Black Women include spotlighting local Black-owned businesses during our games, donating resources to local women’s shelters and seeking out more opportunities to be visible and active in Harlem and other local neighborhoods from a grassroots level. The work will continue!”
As they did last year, the Lions have vowed to continue ordering their home pregame meals from local Black-women-owned restaurants, as well as collecting and donating resources to local women’s shelters. The team also plans to place a greater emphasis on providing mentorship at the grassroots level to aspiring young basketball players within the community.
Last season, the players mentored young girls of color in the Harlem community by connecting with local organizations and implementing their SEED (Success, Envision, Empowerment, Determination) mentorship model. They worked specifically with The Harlem Children’s Zone and Girls, Inc. The team also volunteered at community basketball clinics, such as Grow Our Game, which is a program that empowers the next generation of young girls to become fierce, amazing leaders through confidence, passion and community impact, all while learning the game of basketball.
As a continued reminder of this season’s initiative, the video message published by the team will play during halftime of every home game.
Columbia opens the 2022-23 season on Monday night at Memphis. The team’s first home game is set for Sunday, November 13, hosting Vanderbilt out of the SEC. Tip-off for the home opener is set for 2 p.m.
For the latest on the Columbia women’s basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, or on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
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