News

CavFutures has partnered with HER Sports, an organization whose mission is rooted in fostering the development of girls through sport. Established in 2020 by Jessica Cater, HER Sports aims to empower, educate, and engage girls not only in sport but in all aspects of life. A Charlottesville native, Carter attended and played basketball at Mary Baldwin University. Among her high ranks as a player, Carter is Mary Baldwin’s leader in career points, and she has been inducted into the Mary Baldwin University Hall of Fame. As Carter recognized the invaluable characteristics and life skills that she developed through basketball, she established HER Sports’s programming around the principles of health, unity, excellence, trust, leadership, and respect. HER Sports also works to address and overcome racial, gender-based, social, and economic disparities and barriers to sport that girls may face.

On the impact of partnering with organizations such as HER Sports can have, Kellie Booth, Director of Marketing, Media, and Athlete Engagement at CavFutures, says, “It’s really important to us that we demonstrate our commitment to supporting female athletes, not just through developing opportunities for female student-athletes at UVA but also through supporting the next generation.” CavFutures hosted HER Sports Day this past fall, which was an event to expose young girls to new sports. In December, as a part of a holiday season giving initiative  CavFutures Foundation donated $2,500 to HER Sports, with the hope of continuing to support its mission in the future.

Additionally, CavFutures has participated in various other sports clinics in conjunction with HER Sports. This past Monday, the UVA Women’s Basketball Team, as well as fifteen student-athletes on the UVA Football Team, helped run a Flag Football Clinic for HER Sports. Events such as this one are integral to the mission of HER Sports. Booth explains, “It’s amazing to see these young girls grow their confidence through athletics, especially in a traditionally male sport like football.”

This was the second Flag Football Clinic that CavFutures participated in, the first of which was held in December, and included ten of the UVA football players. Having both football and basketball players at the clinic was a meaningful experience for the student-athletes, as well as the HER Sports athletes. Booth further illustrates, “I think it was really special to have both our Football and Women’s Basketball student-athletes there, the combination of role models both in football and women’s sports are really valuable to these young girls as they learn to play and compete.”