We Are One Team (WA1T): Social Justice through Sport at BGSU

Through the power of sport, WE ARE ONE TEAM (WA1T) aims to strengthen the sense of community at BGSU by creating awareness of social injustice and by facilitating an environment that values inclusion, diversity, and acceptance. As a first-of-its-kind initiative in the United States, WE ARE ONE TEAM (WA1T) brings together undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and staff as well as more than 20 different offices, departments, schools, and student groups across the university.

Our Goals

The following four core goals guide the work of WE ARE ONE TEAM (WA1T) at BGSU:

1. Use sport to create a dialogue on social justice issues by highlighting marginalized voices and by creating awareness of social injustice in our community
2. Use sport to promote friendship between stereotyped groups on campus
3. Use sport to facilitate an environment that values inclusion, diversity, and acceptance
4. Use sport to create a strong network of partners, collaborators, and supporters to collaboratively create positive social change at BGSU and beyond

Your Gift Matters

With your donation, we will be able to achieve our core goals of facilitating positive social change at BGSU and beyond. WE ARE ONE TEAM (WA1T) has organized multiple panel discussions and speaker events focusing on social justice issues in sport as part of our "WA1T: Our Voices" educational series. We have also created a social media photo campaign that features BGSU students and community members taking a stand against injustice and discrimination. WE ARE ONE TEAM (WA1T) has launched its "WA1T Sporting Day Series," which brings together two of the most isolated groups on campus (student-athletes and international students). Finally, we have also held our inaugural WA1T Team 5K Run/Walk to promote social justice through sport, attracting more than 200 BGSU and Bowling Green community members.

Putting Your Donation to Work

Specifically, through this Falcon Funded campaign, your donations will enable us to do the following:

• Host speakers on campus to educate about sport and social justice. For spring 2017, we aim to bring a professional athlete to BGSU to address how sport can be used to promote social justice at BGSU and beyond.
• Continue our WA1T Sporting Day Series 
• Increase awareness of WA1T in the BGSU and Bowling Green community
• Send our WA1T Executive Board members to national conferences to learn from and network with key leaders throughout the country. In spring 2017, we plan to attend the Annual Sport and Social Change Forum hosted by the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
• Host our second annual WA1T 5K Run/Walk to promote social justice through sport at BGSU and to show that, as Falcons, WE ARE ONE TEAM!

Do you want to learn more about WE ARE ONE TEAM (WA1T)? Check out our brand new website at www.bgsu.edu/WeAreOneTeam-BG. 

Thank you for making a difference.