One Love, One New Swax Lax

Just as I walked in the door today for my first day as a Swax Lax intern, I noticed a new design featured on the Swax Lax ball. I immediately recognized the look — the light blue color with the heart-shaped pattern — One Love — because my high school, Oak Knoll in Summit, NJ, ran to support this incredible cause. I soon learned the ball was created out of a partnership between Swax Lax and the One Love Foundation.

One Love Foundation

On May 3, 2010, Yeardley Love was beaten to death by her ex-boyfriend — she was a victim of relationship violence. At the time of her death, she was a senior at the University of Virginia and played on their women’s lacrosse team. Yeardley was described as happy, kind, humble, fun, and passionate about the game of lacrosse. Yeardley’s tragic story sparked awareness in the university community and across the country, and to honor her memory, the One Love Foundation was founded with the goal of bringing “an end to relationship violence by educating, empowering, and activating campus communities in a movement for change.”

People often think this could never happen to them, but statistics show that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men will suffer from relationship abuse in their lifetime. One Love wants to work together to change these statistics, and end relationship abuse.

College campuses and high school lacrosse programs have responded to this cause with enthusiasm and dedication. Teams are challenged to run 1,000,000 yards to show their support (#YardsForYeardley). My high school lacrosse team became involved last year by participating in the run. We completed the 1,000,000 yards, and while running, we were encouraged and inspired that we were helping to make a difference, one yard at a time.

Help Support One Love

After hearing Yeardley’s story and learning about her love of lacrosse, the Swax Lax team wanted to find a way to help propel One Love’s mission by creating a limited edition lacrosse training ball. Swax Lax will donate $1,000 to the One Love Foundation through sales of this ball. I encourage you to buy one today and join the Swax Lax team in supporting this important cause — and to join One Love in the stand against relationship abuse.

Blog post written by Kate Kelly, an intern working at Swax Lax this spring.