A Team Effort

As I mentioned in my last post, there is a great deal of truth to the saying "power in numbers." When it comes to public writing, dedicated supporters can truly make or break a campaign. When the school committee wanted to eliminate high schools sports in Cranston, RI, public writing and active support from local residents were what made the difference. I grew up in Cranston and lived there until I was about 16, so I found this news quite disheartening. As a student-athlete throughout middle school and high school, I felt sad for the young athletes who would be stripped of their opportunity to compete.

For the past two years, budget cuts have led to heated battles between school officials, students, and parents throughout Cranston. My friend's father has been an outspoken advocate to prevent the termination of sports programs in the city. As an influential member of the city council for many years, his father used public writing as a medium to communicate his ideas and distaste for the potential cuts. He wrote letters to the school board, editorials and articles in local newspapers, and he issued notices to Cranstonians about what was actually going on. He was a driving force behind the campaign to prevent these cuts, yet he was not alone.

Parents and students from the schools- along with alumnus- came together in an effort to prevent the elimination of sports teams; they created and circulated petitions, wrote letters, held protests outside of city hall, wrote to local newspapers, and spoke to the media about their concerns. It was an emotional, and at times, seemingly impossible battle, but they never gave up. In the end, their appeals were heard and a donation was made in order to save the athletic teams from termination. Thanks to the dedication of local supporters and inspiration from public writing, this quest to save high school sports was a great success.