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St. Andrews Junior, Bobby Rauch, Is Making a Difference with His Charity

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in .
In the fall of 2010 Bobby Rauch established Giving Lax, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing lacrosse to underprivileged youth in South Florida.  Giving Lax has opened doors to children who could not otherwise afford to play lacrosse.  Rauch teamed up with the Jungle Athletic Group in western Massachusetts, where they have held equipment drives for Giving Lax. In January 2011 he began a 10 week program at the Youth Activity Center (YAC) in Boca Raton. This after school program for children ages 5-12 of low-income families was a big success and touched the lives of many children. Giving Lax continues to hold weekly one-hour instructional clinics teaching the basic skills and drills of lacrosse.  These clinics often include guest lacrosse coaches who provide instruction and interact with the children.  The program culminates with each participant receiving a certificate and their very own lacrosse stick. Last year Bobby spearheaded the first annual “Saint Andrews Sophomore Giving Lax Costa Rica Trip.” A group of Florida lacrosse players traveled to Cost Rica and provided lacrosse clinics at schools located in underprivileged areas.  The trip was a huge success for the children and volunteers alike. You can learn more about the 2012 trip to Costa Rica here in this video. During the summer breaks Bobby and his network of volunteers have taught nearly 50 children at a combined summer camp program for underprivileged children. Giving Lax has also been able to find sponsorships for a few children to attend local lacrosse camps and recreational leagues. Giving Lax is currently at work teaching weekly clinics at YAC. Giving Lax is running a lacrosse equipment drive at Saint Andrew’s School from December 10-December 21 so they can send lacrosse sticks with the Saint Andrew’s sophomores to Costa Rica in 2013. They also donate lacrosse equipment to many underprivileged children in need of equipment right here in South Florida! This includes several high school players at the Coral Springs Charter School too. When we asked Bobby how more folks can help he said, “We welcome everyone to get involved by helping to collect equipment for Giving Lax in their communities, and this could also be a terrific community service project for interested students at any school.”  There is always an equipment drop-off bin conveniently located at Laxzone ( 5% discount with lacrosse gear donation; click here for more information. For more information about how you can get involved with Giving Lax you can message Bobby Rauch on Facebook.com/Givinglax.