The month of April is Abuse Prevention Month.

In 2010, the One Love Foundation was established in honor of Yeardley Love. Yeardley Love was a student-athlete at the University of Virginia, where she played for the women’s lacrosse team. Three weeks before she graduated from college, she was unfortunately killed by her ex-boyfriend on May 3, 2010.

“One Love Foundation’s mission is to end relationship abuse,” said BPHS girls lacrosse coach Jackie Rutkowski. “By educating young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships and empowering them to be leaders in creating positive change in their communities.”

The girls lacrosse team spent Sunday, April 13 reviewing the signs of an unhealthy and healthy relationship and talked about each one in detail. The girls also acted out skits with unhealthy and healthy relationships so everyone could learn what to avoid in relationships and how to get help.

“As a coach, I wholeheartedly believe in using my platform to influence a large group of young girls to learn the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships. Whether it’s between teammates, family members, or their partners, we as coaches owe it to our players to be a solid resource for navigating life’s biggest challenges,” said Coach Rutkowski.

The next day, the lacrosse team wore their One Love shirts to school. Along with wearing the shirts, the girls also sold One Love bracelets for $1 during all lunch periods.

Later that night, along with USC, both teams wore blue One Love Shirts to warm up in, and the girls had blue ribbons for their hair and cleats to show their support.

During halftime, a 50/50 bucket was passed around during both JV and varsity games. The Hawks raised over $450, which was the most money they’ve ever raised for One Love. All the money was donated back to the One Love Foundation.