Social impact & sports panel

Missed it? Watch it here!

Speakers:

• Arvind Gopalratnam: VP of Corporate Social Responsibility and Executive Director of the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation at the Milwaukee Bucks

• Eric Shainock: Co-founder at Philanthropy Playmakers
• Jackie Davenport: Director of Creative at UW Athletics
• Sheridan Blanford: Director of Inclusion & Engagement at UW Athletics

Key Takeaways:

• Community outreach within college athletics is relatively new, as there are few athletic departments that have community outreach programs
• Universities, players, athletes, brands etc. have platforms that have the ability to do an abundance of good in society
• No other industry can create the type of social impact that sports creates
• Athletes must be taught the positions they are capable of having in society
• Sometimes community initiatives between various players/teams/organizations align and sometimes they don't
• We are seeing a recent shift towards initiatives in what the players value, such as more attention in mental health
• Because things are more visible, we are more exposed to what the challenges are. For example, the Milwaukee Bucks refusing to take the court exposed individuals to the social problems that they may not recognize otherwise
• Due to social media, visibility is at an all-time high
• USE YOUR NETWORK