For the past few years the Boothbay Region High School girls basketball team and my AAU team (Maine Firecrackers) has participated in the Taylor Tip-Off basketball tournament, that raises awareness and money for domestic violence in Maine. In addition to donating as a team and at the door for admission, we have facilitated a purple day at the schools and reached out to the community to donate to this cause. As a community, we have raised a lot of money for the Taylor Tip-Off Organization. This organization has informed all of us and made us more aware of domestic violence.

Last year was their final year of hosting the tournament. I did not want that to mean that we would stop raising awareness and money for domestic violence. On Nov. 22, Boothbay Region High School and Elementary School hosted a purple day for domestic violence awareness month. Students and faculty were asked to wear purple and bring in any size donation if they could. I wanted to find a new organization that would help our local county, this is when I learned about the New Hope For Women organization. According to its website, “New Hope for Women offers support to people in Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox and Waldo counties affected by domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, and provides educational resources to assist our communities in creating a safer and healthier future.”

The community and schools came together and were able to raise $650! I was able to have the pleasure of meeting Mary Hanley, a representative from the New Hope For Women. She was not only pleased by the amount and generosity of this community, but was overwhelmed by the amount of support. Thank you all so much!