Partnership Will Bring McPherson’s Message of Aspirational Masculinity to 36 Regional YMCAs Across the State, Including 140 Individual YMCA Facilities

Baldwinsville, NY - Join us as OPDV is proud to announce our partnership with former NFL quarterback, Don McPherson, and his organization, Don McPherson Enterprises LLC, which oversees ASPIRE NY, is expanding! A new collaboration with the Alliance of New York State YMCAs will bring McPherson’s approach of Aspirational Masculinity, which aims to help prevent gender-based violence by focusing on positive male identity and examining the relationships between men and boys, to communities all across the state.

The event will feature remarks from Don McPherson, OPDV Executive Director Kelli Owens, and Alliance of New York State YMCAs Executive Director Kyle Stewart. This announcement comes as Governor Kathy Hochul declared October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in New York State.

What: Launch of partnership between OPDV, Don McPherson and Aspire NY, and Alliance of New York State YMCAs

When:  Thursday, October 3^rd, 11:00 AM

Where: Northwest Family YMCA
            8040 River Road
            Baldwinsville, NY 13027

Who: Don McPherson, Don McPherson Enterprises LLC, Founder of Aspire NY, Kelli Owens, Executive   Director, NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, and Kyle Stewart, Executive Director Alliance of New York State YMCAs

For more information, please contact:

Jacquie Slater – Director of Public Information, NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence
jacquie.slater@opdv.ny.gov

(518) 912-7881

On Background:

OPDV first joined forces with McPherson in 2023, including McPherson’s message of Aspirational Masculinity in our Start the Conversation, Engaging Men and Boys campaign. As a former All-American quarterback at Syracuse University and member of the College Football Hall of Fame, McPherson is an effective messenger to speak to young men about gender-based violence, which he has done since 1995.  The author of You Throw Like a Girl: The Blind Spot of Masculinity, Don has twice testified before the United States Congress and has worked closely with the U.S. Departments of Education and Defense on issues of sexual violence in education and the military, respectively.