Athlete Ally and Gillette Announce Game Changer Grant Recipients
November 1, 2022 – Today, Athlete Ally and Gillette announced the winners of the Gillette Game Changer Grants, awarded to six Athlete Ally Campus Chapters who are working to make their campuses the most inclusive they can be for the LGBTQI+ community.
Through the years, Gillette has been giving people the power to turn ideas into action. Founded on the belief that everyone should have the personal freedom to achieve the look they desire, Gillette has been at the forefront of giving people the ability to realize the most authentic version of themselves.
Now in partnership with Athlete Ally, Gillette is helping the next generation of athlete leaders turn their ideas into action. Through the Gillette Game Changer Grants, Athlete Ally Campus Chapters at Bucknell University, Columbia University-Barnard College (which was also awarded an Athlete Ally Action Award, presented by John Claughton, Vice President of North America Grooming at Gillette), Duke University, Harvard University, Springfield College and the University of Miami will have funding to enhance their programming, which includes hosting Pride nights, presenting educational workshops on LGBTQI+ topics, working to adopt inclusive policies at the school and conference level, and advocating for anti-discriminatory policies at a city, state, regional and national level.
“We are immensely grateful to Gillette for their partnership and support in scaling up the impact of our Campus Chapters,” said Athlete Ally’s Policy and Programs Manager Emet Marwell. “I am incredibly proud of our grant recipients. Each of these chapters demonstrate how student-athletes can drive forward LGBTQI+ inclusion in athletics, and empower others to do the same. Because of Gillette’s support, they can continue their advocacy to make clear that sport is a space for us all.”
“Through the years, Gillette has built a portfolio of iconic, world-class professional athletes who inspire both on and off the field,” said John Claughton, VP of Grooming. “The college athlete leaders and their Athlete Ally chapters we are recognizing with the Gillette Game Changer grants are on that same level, showing the world what is possible through the power of sports. We look forward to seeing the positive impact the chapters are able to have with the help of these grants.”
About Athlete Ally
Athlete Ally is a non-profit organization that works to end the structural and systemic oppression that isolates, excludes, and endangers LGBTQI+ people in sport. We educate individuals and institutions to understand obstacles to inclusion for LGBTQI+ people and how they can build an inclusive culture within their athletic communities. We work to ensure sport governing bodies, teams, and leagues adopt policies that reflect the diversity of their constituents. We incubate athlete activism to advance LGBTQI+ equality in and through sport.
The Athlete Ally Campus Chapter program is a grassroots initiative that engages student-athletes across North America to build LGBTQI+ inclusion in sport and encourage other athletes, coaches, and fans to do the same. Each student-led chapter chooses which programming and policy endeavors it wants to undertake, with support from their on-campus chapter advisor and Athlete Ally staff. Athlete Ally currently has 45+ active campus chapters across the United States and Canada, and the network continues to grow!
About Gillette
For more than 120 years, Gillette has delivered precision technology and unrivaled product performance – improving the lives of more than 800 million consumers around the world. From shaving and body grooming, to skin care and sweat protection, Gillette offers a wide variety of products including razors, shave gel (gels, foams and creams), skin care, after shaves, antiperspirants, deodorants and body wash. For more information and the latest news on Gillette, visit www.gillette.com. To see our full selection of products, visit www.gillette.com. Follow Gillette on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
About the Athlete Ally and Gillette Partnership
Young people today encounter an overwhelming number of choices and mounting pressures as they determine who they will become and how they will get there. At Gillette, we understand the importance of fostering good role models to help people feel they can be authentically themselves. In partnership with Athlete Ally, Gillette is encouraging the next generation of athlete leaders to pursue their ambitions and speak up on behalf of others.
The Gillette Game Changer Grants will be awarded to Athlete Ally Campus Chapters who are working to make their campuses the most inclusive they can be for the LGBTQI+ community.