Friend Encounters: Abe Lincoln & Kayla Wood, Kylie Ohlmiller, Dempsey Arsenault and Ally Kennedy

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends who have met celebrities.

In 2021, Athletes Unlimited exposed me to the fun world of pro lacrosse. I covered the league for the entire season, partaking in many Zoom interviews with the players. Based in Washington, D.C., the players took advantage of the area and visited many historic and fun places. One of those was a Washington National game. 

Kayla Wood, Kylie Ohlmiller, Dempsey Arsenault and Ally Kennedy attended a game and got a picture with the Abraham Lincoln mascot. Obviously, the lady athletes were trying to get featured here in the offseason and of course, I am always happy to feature fun "celebrity encounters."

For more info on AU and the great players, go to AUProSports.com. In addition to lacrosse, AU has leagues of softball, basketball and volleyball.

Kayla Wood, Kylie Ohlmiller, Abe Lincoln, Dempsey Arsenault and Ally Kennedy in Washington, D.C.-August 2021.

On the Beat With Athletes Unlimited 2021 Week 3 Part 1

The inaugural Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse season wrapped up Week Three with another round of exciting games. This weekend had a special focus as "Causes Weekend."

One of the unique features of AU Sports is the players get paid based on team and individual performance. A percentage of that money pool goes directly to causes individually selected by each player.

In the media sessions, I talked to several players about their causes. Their passion for the causes was evident as they all spoke, but none more than Dempsey Arsenault, who literally broke down as she talked about End 68 Hours of Hunger.

Players causes is such a great concept. Not only does it raise money for local and national charities, it raises awareness to them, as well. All season, but especially on Causes Week, the various causes were featured and promoted by the players, the league, broadcasters, fans and media. All across social media, players promoted their causes. That translates to millions of eyes on these posts and therefore the causes.

Out of respect to the players and general curiosity, I took the time to look up each charity to learn more about it. Since the players are donating a set percentage of their bonuses to the charities, I figure it is the least I can do to learn more about each. Researching the charities makes you realize the needs of others, the important work people are doing and how fortunate you are. I am pretty sure everyone knows someone affected by the various causes.

AU lists each player's cause on their individual page on the AU website. I have condensed all of them into one list below for ease in research. I highly encourage all to check out the causes. Help out if you can, but at least learn about them.

Dempsey Arsenault, Angie Benson-End 68 Hours of Hunger

Kayla Wood, Caylee Waters, Britt Read, Sammy Jo Tracy, Marie McCool, Halle Majorana, Becca Brown, Grace Gabriel-Harlem Lacrosse

Taylor Cummings, Kristen Carr, Molly Little, Mary Kate Bonanni-One Love Foundation

Kady Glynn, Taryn VanThof, Shayna Pirreca, Hayey Hicklen, Sydney Pirreca-Friends of Jaclyn

Kylie Ohlmiller, Ally Kennedy, Nicole Levy, Sam Apuzzo, Alyssa Parrella, Emily Parros-HEADstrong Foundation

Kayla Treanor-Unity House of Troy, NY

Kenzie Kent, Ella Simkins-Team IMPACT

Alex Aust-The Sports Bra Project

Caroline Wakefield-Preston's League

Haley Warden-Women in Sports Tech

Kyra Pelton-The Out Foundation

Cortney Fortunato-We Fight Like Girls

Kelly McPartland, Taylor Hensh-Zaching Against Cancer Foundation

Amber Hill-Rising Hearts

Kathy Rudkin-GiGi's Playhouse - Annapolis

Megan Douty-Play 4

Taylor VanThof-One Love Foundation

Sarah Brown-NAACP Legal Defense Fund

Holly McGarvie Reilly-Argentina Lacrosse

Amber McKenzie-The Arc of Carroll County

Molly Garrett, Tianna Wallpher-American Cancer Society

Katie O'Donnell-Play Like a Girl!

Izzy McMahon, Katie Hertsch-The Surfrider Foundation

Michelle Tumolo, Britt Brown, Mollie Stevens-CityLax

Lindsey McKone, Katrina Geiger-Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation

MC Byrne, Amanda Johansen, Lindsey Ronbeck-Morgan's Message

Katrina Dowd-The Trevor Project

Mira Shane-Black Heart Association

The first media session can be found at On the Beat With Athletes Unlimited 2021 Week 3 Part 1. Go to AUProSports.com for more info on the players and their causes.