As we stand ready to graduate a new class of fresh meat skaters from Derby 101 into our regular Vixens practices, it strikes me that being a Vixen is more than having the derby skills necessary to compete. To be a Vixen, every skater, ref, coach and volunteer must be as committed to making our community a better place as she or he is to being the best skater, ref, coach or volunteer they can be.
Giving back to Greater Lansing isn’t something we do because it “looks good” or because we’re looking for some sort of tax write-off. Doing good work in our community is something we do because it’s in our blood. It’s about supporting the community that has given us such amazing support this year. It’s about doing good for the sake of doing good. It’s about paying it forward.
One of our skaters, Addie Mortem, wrote a beautiful recap of what it means to be a Vixen over at the Lansing Collective. I highly recommend you read it.
To date, we have given more than $5,000 to local charities like the Capital Area Humane Society, Eve Inc., Ele’s Place and Gateway Community Services. That’s in addition to 200+ hours of community service and volunteer work at events like Be A Tourist In Your Own Town, the BWL Chili Cookoff, Ele’s Race, Max’s Race, Relay for Life, Hawk Island Triathlon, Lansing Jazz Fest, Festival of the Sun, Festival of the Moon and so many more I can scarcely believe it. In fact, when you multiply the number of community service hours we’ve worked by the number of actual skaters at each event, it’s approaching 2,000 hours of time.
Plus, we’ve had the amazing opportunity to work with Lansing Parks & Recreation on a junior derby class. We’ve had such a great time working with young women between the ages of 7 and 16, teaching them the basics of derby, including teamwork, self-esteem and sportswomanship. This group, whom we lovingly call the Miskits, has been an awesome part of the derby experience for all of our skaters.
So yeah, you could say that community service is a part of who we are. And we want to do more!
For more information on how to get the Vixens to volunteer for YOUR event, contact our events chair, Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang at events@lansingderbyvixens.com.
Also, check out this amazing video that LRN101 did on our community service! Our portion is around the 17-minute mark!
LRN101 Episode 7 from Lansing Public Media on Vimeo.
