As we enter year three of the Eli’s Cleats program, I reflect on growth and value the program is delivering. We started this program as a way to keep Eli’s name in the Hamden High locker room by offering donations to the Hamden High football program.

Quickly the community responded with suggestions to include other sports, other schools, not just high schools what about the Middle School?? We got suggestions for afterschool programs, youth clubs and so much more. One day we would be thrilled if our expansion covered each of those ideas.

So now we enter year three of the program and what have we done?

We have expanded the program to FOUR schools!

This means Hamden High, Eli Whitney Tech, Ella Grasso Tech, and new this year Common Ground will all be given $150 gift cards for students in need to get the gear required to participate in school sports. This upcoming school year 16 student-athletes will be gifted an Eli’s Cleats donation to support their passion in sports! We went from 4 students in one school to 16 students in four schools.

Growing the program 4x over 3 years is something I know Eli would be so happy about if he was still with us.

Shopping for cleats every summer was a memory I will always cherish. The photo on our flyer is Eli trying on a bunch of different styles. I always loved those trips! We would get cleats, compression gear, new mouthguards- whatever he needed. Unfortunately for many families those costs are too much to carry and many households are not able to cover those out-of-pocket expenses. Transforming my memories into new happy memories for other households, with more kids staying on the athletic fields is our goal with this program. It keeps Elijah’s name live in the locker room, on the fields, and on the courts.

This year The Great Give includes an option to designate your gift to the Eli’s Cleats program. With a gift of $150 you can cover the cost of one student in our program this year. Visit here from 5/2-5/12 or make a donation on our page any time.

Impact through this program looks different for different students.

Earlier this year while visiting Eli Whitney Tech the principal shared a story with me about how they used one of their donations during the 24-25 school year, the first year they were in the program. Principal DiNatale told me a story about a student who experienced a house fire. The family lost nearly everything they owned. Because of the gift from Eli’s Cleats Principal DiNatale was able to reach into his drawer and immediately hand out a Eli’s Cleats donation so his student could get back into sports.

That story moved me. I was so touched that Eli Whitney Tech had exactly what they needed in that moment to help their student get back into a healthy outlet and start training again. Last year Eli Whitney Tech was the new school to join the program. This year Common Ground is the newest school to receive the donations. While we don’t have the funds to expand into other segments like the Middle School or youth groups just yet, I hope we will over time. I love hearing ideas from the community on where funds are needed most. As a lean organization, making impact in these ways helps keep kids working with healthy role models instead of spending more time on the streets or doing unhealthy activities. We hope to see continued expansion of this program as we grow as a nonprofit focused on violence prevention and healing.

Questions about the program? Reach out to me any time. My email is growers@elisgardenofhealing.com

See you at an event soon, Crystal Zukauskas President of EGH & Aunt to Elijah Gomez