Dedication to Community (D2C), a national non-profit that educates and empowers communities on diversity, belonging, and equity, today announced a historic partnership with Boston College (BC) to create and implement an extensive awareness and action program for all of BC’s 900 student-athletes, coaches and staff. The interactive program is scheduled to begin this spring and will include on-site training, customized interactive programs and speakers. D2C’s growing college presence over the years has included dozens of institutions of higher education, including Harvard University, University of Maryland College Park, Seton Hall University, University of North Carolina Charlotte, St. John’s University School of Law and several Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This is the first time that D2C’s extensive program is being offered at BC.
“We want to thank Pat Kraft, Michael Harris and the staff at Boston College for recognizing the opportunity and taking action at this critical time in our society,” said M. Quentin Williams, Dedication To Community founder and CEO, and also a BC graduate and former football player during the Flutie era. “Efforts to be inclusive and understanding of those around us start at the community level, and there is no more receptive community for these programs than society’s young leaders. We believe this will set a standard in the Boston area – a place with which I am very familiar from my time at BC and as a law enforcement officer – as well as across college athletics and academia.“
“Dedication To Community has a message and mission that is vital to all of us today, no matter what our background is, and we are proud to be able to work with Quentin and his team on this historic and important effort,” said Pat Kraft, Director of Athletics at Boston College. “We know this program will be well received and impactful for all of our staff, coaches and student-athletes, and we are honored to be in a position to offer this to our talented BC family.”
Since Kraft’s arrival at Boston College, the athletics department has developed a student-athlete and a staff Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee to identify student-athlete and employee needs, along with opportunities for growth and improvement, crafted an athletics department diversity statement to outline department values and beliefs, formulated an athletics department-wide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan to improve the student-athlete experience and ensure impactful civic engagement toward marginalized communities and launched the Eagles for Equality initiative focused on Unity, Support, Education, and Outreach.
These customized efforts are being implemented to address relevant societal issues by providing action-oriented tools to the BC community and for communities aligned with BC, ultimately enhancing unity, relationships and opportunities for reconciliation during these challenging times.
To date, D2C has worked with law enforcement agencies in several states across the U.S., including Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, the Carolinas, and at the FBI National Academy in Virginia, where Williams has been an instructor. For the past five years, D2C has worked with valuable partners, including Equilibrium Up and its founder, James Fisher-Davis, who now serves as D2C’s Vice President of Curriculum Advancement and is a Senior Instructor. Mr. Fisher-Davis will be deeply involved with leading the programming at BC.
In September, D2C expanded its reach to involve professional, collegiate, and K-12 athletes, adding former NFL executive Lamonte Winston (former Director of Player Engagement and Development, Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Donnie Shell (Pittsburgh Steelers). In September 2020, Williams also announced a historic partnership with the Miami HEAT and the City of Miami Police Department and, in February 2021, launched a partnership with veteran PGA TOUR golfer Kirk Triplett. Additional partnerships tied to athletes and teams are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.