GRANVILLE, Ohio (July 19, 2022) – Kate Griffin, a rising junior on the Denison University women's golf team, is a founding board member, Vice President and driving force behind Crossover for Change, a non-profit organization whose mission is to "foster confidence, empowerment and leadership for young women in Uganda through sport."

Crossover for Change was founded by a group of young athletes from Colorado Springs high schools, including Griffin, and evolved out of a love of sports and basketball, a connection in Uganda and a desire to impact the lives of young girls and empower them through sport. Due to gendered expectations in Uganda, young girls find it challenging to remain in school or pursue a career, and their exposure to life lessons through sport are limited. This group of Colorado girls through Crossover for Change aspires to reverse this trend by promoting leadership and life lesson through sport education and enhancing self-esteem and confidence for young women at two schools in Uganda.

Griffin and other members of Crossover for Change traveled to Uganda from June 1 to June 11 and stayed at the girls' schools – Maryhill High School in Mbarre and Immaculate Heart Girls School in Nyakibale. In addition, these founding board members have raised $40,000 and built a basketball court at Maryhill High School.

"This summer I traveled to Uganda with the nonprofit organization Crossover for Change with the goal of empowering young women through sports," said Griffin. "We taught two basketball camps as well as learned about the culture and lives of young women in Uganda. In the Spring of 2020, some of my high school basketball teammates and I started this nonprofit with the hopes of teaching and inspiring young girls about the opportunities and lessons that sports bring to our lives. We worked with two all-girl Catholic schools in Uganda who were wanting to expand sports in their school but did not have enough funds or knowledge to do so. Before leaving for Uganda, we raised funds to build a basketball court at one of the schools who did not have one. Additionally, we held two basketball camps for over 500 students and provided them with equipment including basketballs, agility ladders, stopwatches, shoes, and jerseys amount other things for the students to keep. In the camps we taught the girls basic ballhandling skills, shooting form, agility and strength exercises, while also integrating lessons and knowledge about nutrition, hydration, goal setting, and teamwork."

In a time of quarantines, masks, and social distancing, this opportunity has not only created a means to shape connections with local teammates and friends but also with like-minded girls 8,597 miles from Colorado. Since spring 2020, these athletes have devoted time and energy toward launching Crossover for Change and are passionate about its mission--fostering confidence, empowerment, and leadership for young girls in Uganda through the sport of basketball.

"This trip truly changed my perspective on life and all the opportunities I am presented with," added Griffin. "In Uganda, school is a luxury. School is by far the safest place for these girls, and it was very important for us to show that having a good education and staying in school leads to amazing opportunities. Our biggest goal, however, was to show that sports helped contribute to our success in school and that life lessons from sports apply to the classroom and beyond. This was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. The people that I met in Uganda we're so grateful for all of our knowledge and we are planning on returning to the schools next summer to teach more camps to more girls and to learn even more about their culture and lives. Sports and friendship have no boundaries, and I am so grateful that I was able to share my love and knowledge with these truly amazing young women.

Following her trip to Uganda, Griffin began an exciting internship with the US Olympic Training Center Sports Science department, and is staying busy throughout the summer.

"This summer I am volunteering at the United States Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, specifically in their sports sciences department," concluded Griffin. "I am working under Lindsay Golich, who is the senior sports physiologist, but I am also being exposed to other areas including sports medicine, strength and conditioning, and nutrition. Some of the projects I am working on include laboratory testing (lactate threshold/ Vo2 max, sweat sodium concentration, sweat rate, velocity testing, total hemoglobin, other performance testing based on NGB needs), data entry, assisting with equipment calibration, video and performance analysis, and inventory organization and updates So far I have conducted a metabolic test to compare running economy of different shoes. This was done in a high-altitude training chamber on a ultra marathoner. I have also performed several lactate threshold tests on Paralympic alpine skiers."
 
To learn more about Crossover for Change, please click HERE.
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Crossover for Change Press Coverage