Impact Weeks Overview
Impact Weeks are opportunities for Athletes Unlimited and its athletes to highlight a specific cause, observance, community partner, or AU initiative through targeted weekly programming, athlete experiences, and game presentations both in-venue and throughout broadcast content and activations. Themes for impact weeks are driven and chosen by the Player Executive Committees of each sport.
2024 | 2023 | Resource Guides
2024 Impact Weeks Overview
Basketball
Our basketball athletes celebrated Athlete Causes and Black Women in the Military for their impact weeks. In celebration of Black Women in the Military, AU partnered with The U.S. Air Force and nonprofit group, National Association of Black Military Women, to host a panel discussion with our athletes and Black women who have and are currently serving to share their experiences. We also hosted a swear-in ceremony for the USAF’s Delayed Entry Program during halftime of one of our games and our athletes volunteered at Solider’s Angels to help assemble and deliver food packages to veterans in need.
Softball
Our softball athletes celebrated Athlete Causes, Pride, and A Fearless Pursuit as their impact week themes. For A Fearless Pursuit, we partnered with Alliance Fastpitch to host four (4) junior roles that allowed middle and high-school-aged girls with interests in content creation, broadcasting, and event hosting to shadow members of the AU staff during one of our games to get hands-on experience in their respective career interests.
Additionally, during the AUX season, our athletes celebrated Juneteenth through gameday activations including live performances from Dr. Martin Luther King College Prep H.S.’s drumline and majorettes and a digital resource guide connecting fans with more information on the holiday.
Lacrosse
Our lacrosse athletes celebrated Athlete Causes and #ThatsLove as their impact week themes. For the #ThatsLove theme, AU partnered with One Love Foundation to host a training for our athletes on identifying the signs of healthy & unhealthy relationships and hosted the organization’s founder, Sharon Love, and CEO, Julie Myers for the impact gameday. Additionally, our athletes volunteered at a local women’s shelter to help distribute meals to women in need.
Volleyball
Our volleyball athletes celebrated Starlings, Athlete Causes, and Power in My Voice as their impact week themes. For Party at the Polls, AU partnered with When We All Vote to host a Party at the Polls event to encourage early voting and share helpful tips about voting in the 2024 election and co-hosted a pre-season clinic with Starlings to increase access to the sport.
Learn More About Athletes Unlimited's Civic Leadership Initiatives
2023 Impact Weeks Overview
Basketball
Our basketball athletes celebrated Black Women’s History, Special Olympics, and Athlete Causes for their impact weeks. These celebrations included: a shoot-a-thon in partnership with sportscaster Debbi Antonelli to raise money for the Special Olympics and their athletes during halftime of one of our games, and a panel discussion at Paul Quinn College celebrating former Black WNBA legends alongside current pro athletes.
Softball
Our softball athletes celebrated Pride, Athlete Causes, and Athletes For Mental Health for their 2023 impact weeks. These celebrations included an in-game dedication and co-branded resource guide around mental health awareness in partnership with Morgan’s Message, an LGBTQ+ support video in partnership with our AU Pro Lacrosse athletes in honor of Pride, and a transgender/non-binary training hosted by Chris Mosier of Trans Athlete.
Additionally, during the AUX season, our athletes celebrated Juneteenth through gameday activations including live performances from Dr. Martin Luther King College Prep H.S.’s drumline and majorettes and a digital resource guide connecting fans with more information on the holiday.
Lacrosse
Our lacrosse athletes chose Athletes For Mental Health and Amplify Us! as their 2023 impact weeks. Similarly to Softball, our Lacrosse athletes partnered with Morgan’s Message for an in-game dedication to loved ones lost and present dealing with mental health struggles, in addition to a co-branded resource guide connecting fans to more information on local and national mental health resources. Amplify Us! focused on magnifying the voices that have been historically marginalized within the sport, with a specific emphasis on indigenous and LGBTQ+ voices, and sharing the indigenous roots of the sport’s origin.
Volleyball
Our Volleyball athletes chose Starlings, Athlete Causes, and Moms in Sport as their 2023 impact weeks. Starlings was a collaboration with youth partner, Starlings, focused on widening the pool of participation within the sport among indigenous and Latinx communities; as part of this theme, our athletes co-hosted a pre-season clinic with Starlings where they served as coaches and mentors.
Moms in Sport aimed to amplify the voices of moms within the sport, with a specific focus on raising awareness around and advocating for Black maternal health; as part of this theme, we partnered with local Phoenix nonprofit, Our Mothers & Us, to host a conversation around maternal health within the U.S. and how they can advocate for better health outcomes for themselves and communities at large.
Learn More About Athletes Unlimited's Civic Leadership Initiatives
