Alongside professional athlete mentors like Alejandro Bedoya, BLUE Missions’ program will provide student-athletes with an opportunity to help provide communities with clean water.
MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BLUE Missions, the Miami-based non-profit organization, is proud to launch the Name, Image, & Kindness program. Ten student-athletes will have the incredible opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic to empower progress and transform rural communities while improving public health. Over a three-month period, prestigious athletic alumni and professional athletes, like US Soccer star Alejandro Bedoya, will provide continuous individual mentorship. Participants will learn how to embark on Name, Image and Likeness opportunities safely and successfully, in addition to receiving a $3,000 grant to address any global or community issue they feel passionate about. Athliance, an NCAA software and Sports Management company providing student-athletes with education and help in navigating the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) legislation, will ensure that all terms of this amazing opportunity remain compliant and that the selected student-athletes disclose all relevant terms to their university prior to entering the program.
“Clean water is one of the most basic humans needs, yet over 785 million people lack access to it,” says Danny Rodriguez, President of BLUE Missions. “The Name, Image, & Kindness program is an incredible opportunity to educate and connect volunteers with a real global issue and continue to work toward ending the water crisis in our lifetime as we connect communities to clean water and people with their purpose to create change as global citizens. At BLUE Missions, we are molding society’s future leaders – either planting or growing the seeds of a love for a better tomorrow by using modern approaches such as social entrepreneurship and sustainable innovation. Name, Image, & Kindness is an opportunity for participants to not only change their lives through the realization of their own purpose, but also gain the tools to grow and build a better, more equitable world.”
Developed by BLUE Missions and powered by Athliance, Name, Image, & Kindness is a purpose-driven leadership program that educates student-athletes on topics such as leadership development, social entrepreneurship, sustainability, and self-discovery of individualized passions. Beginning in March, program participants will participate in developmental workshops led by entrepreneurs, business owners, and community leaders and learn more about leadership and how they can harness their power to change the world. In addition to workshops, student-athletes will work alongside their mentor to develop an initiative that showcases their purpose, which will be brought to life via a $3,000 grant. The program concludes with a five-day immersion experience in the Dominican Republic, where program participants will work together with locals from a rural community to construct a gravity-fed water system that will provide families with access to clean water in their homes. Athliance will ensure that all terms of the opportunity are compliant on a Federal, NCAA, State and University level while also making sure all necessary terms are disclosed to the student-athletes’ universities in order to maintain that all parties remain compliant and protected.
“Athliance is thrilled to partake in BLUE Missions’ Name, Image, & Kindness program to help student-athletes realize their purpose and passions to help others,” says Athliance Chief Executive Officer and BLUE Mission’s Board Member Peter Schoenthal. “My own experiences leading students on trips to the Dominican Republican nearly a decade ago genuinely changed my life, pushing me to do all that I can to educate and generate positive change for young athletes – it’s what put me on the path to Athliance. On this trip, my purpose is giving student-athletes the tools to succeed while also making sure all sides are protected from a compliance standpoint. This is an incredible opportunity for individuals who aren’t just student-athletes but student leaders. We are looking for 10 student-athletes who want to bring their diversity of thought, mind, & experience to change the world.”
The deadline for application submission is January 15, 2022. BLUE Missions and Athliance are seeking five men and five women who participate in college athletics, are non-graduating, and will be eligible to play in 2022. Applicants should demonstrate their dedication and desire to change the community as global citizens and leaders. By January 31, 2022, 10 lucky student-athletes will receive confirmation of their acceptance. The program begins with Education and Mentorship components on March 1, 2022.
Applications for student-athletes looking to participate in the Name, Image, & Kindness program are now open. To learn more about the program visit: https://www.bluemissions.org/nik.
Rodriguez concludes: “For student-athletes, NIL represents a huge opportunity to engage in social entrepreneurship and impact marketing – we want to ensure those students are connected to their passions and developing their purpose. We believe that everyone has a role to play in the ecosystem of giving – whether you are a CEO, a professional athlete, or a full time missionary, everyone has a role in leaving our world better than how we found it.”
About BLUE Missions
Cofounded by siblings Danny Rodriguez and Nicole Garcia, BLUE Missions is dedicated to improving public health by providing families with clean water and sanitary environments. Through sustainable, community-owned projects, the team works with locals to empower progress and transform rural communities for the better. Since their inception in 2010, BLUE has connected over 30,000 people to clean water and sanitation and has facilitated immersion experiences for over 3,000 volunteers. BLUE Missions invites volunteers to travel with the organization and lend a hand in constructing projects to educate participants about global inequality and inspire them to become the change-makers of the future. For more information on BLUE Missions, visit https://www.bluemissions.org/.
About Athliance
Athliance’s proprietary NIL education and opportunity management software empowers compliance departments to operate more efficiently in the new world of college athletics. Their tools and resources allow universities to maintain current staff levels by automating the communication and workflow of every single opportunity presented to student-athletes, start-to-finish. Their solution mitigates NIL risks and protects scholarships, sponsorships, and post-season appearances. Furthermore, their real-time reporting provides valuable data and insights for marketing and recruiting purposes. For more information on Athliance, visit https://athliance.co/.
Contacts
Kat Ladner
Katherine@gcomworks.com
