The Colorado Rapids were honored at local nonprofit Project Helping’s annual awards gala on Thursday night, earning the Spotlight Award for the launch of the New Day kit, centered around the message of reducing the stigma around mental health and providing fans with resources and opportunities to work on their own mental health.
Caitlin Kinser, Senior Director of Community Impact and Events, accepted the award on behalf of the club for her efforts to build, promote, and champion the launch.
“When we launched the jersey we were not sure what the response was going to be, mainly because there's still a stigma around mental health, especially in the sports industry," said Kinser in her acceptance speech. "We were overwhelmed with the DMs, the one-off emails, the text messages from national sports journalists, season ticket members what have been around since [the club's] inception, former players, all kinds of people reaching out saying mental heath is important topic to them.
"They'd tell us their stories and then they'd ask how they could help. I think that's such a testament to how big a topic mental health is and how important it is to people and the responsibility we have to champion those conversations and make people comfortable talking about it."
The three pillars of the launch were anti-stigma, access to care and resources, and program support and volunteering.
In coordination with the launch of the New Day kit, the club pledged to donate $25,000 to the multiple nonprofits partnering with the campaign, including Project Helping, Go4Graham, Mental Health Colorado and Denver Park Trust. Fans could also do their part to support the cause by donating through retailer Altitude Authentics when buying New Day kits and associated merchandise designed by local artist Pat Milbery.
Testimonies from voices around the club, such as veteran Drew Moor and match analyst Jordan Angeli, information about our partners, and details about the New Day kit can be found at coloradorapids.com/NewDay.
During Mental Health Awareness month, the Rapids will launch a number of activations to support their New Day kit and campaign and urge fans to help reduce the stigma around mental health. Stay tuned to our website at www.coloradorapids.com and our social media channels at @ColoradoRapids for more updates heading into May.
