The Connecticut Sun, the WNBA franchise based at the Mohegan Sun Arena since 2003, is playing its final games in the Nutmeg State, but before the team relocates to Houston, Texas, it is doing what it has always done: showing its commitment to the community. Over these past 23 years, the Sun hasn’t only held events that spotlight the team’s players. There also have been extensive community programs.
One especially meaningful event was held earlier this year: the Connecticut Sun’s Solar Sisters Series, which inspires girls through sports, sustainability, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Solar Sisters was for girls from the Discovery Magnet School in Bridgeport, Conn.
“Being able to close things off where we’re able to do our big programs one last time is important,” said Shamare Holmes, director of community relations for the Sun. On Earth Day last spring, the SHU Discovery Science Center hosted an event where the 73 girls in attendance heard about the many careers in STEM. About 90% of the girls in the Solar Sister program were athletes.
“We can bring the next generation of girls to know that you can play sports and there are actually careers in sports and STEM where you can do the best of both worlds,” said Holmes. “Not everyone is going to play professionally, but if you love science and technology and you love sports, there are careers where you can be in the sports realm.”
The school’s science specialist, Mary Servino, noted that while the students had access to free areas of the SHU Discovery Science Center, other areas charge a fee. The Connecticut Sun Foundation raised $2,000 to bring the 73 students into those premium areas, including the planetarium and demonstrations, with one about water and oceans. Supporting the event was a way of “making sure we’re equipping youth early and getting them to try different things,” said Holmes.
At their game on August 7, the Sun will host STEM Night, presented by BuildSubmarines.com. Attendees will explore how basketball and STEM go hand-in-hand through interactive STEM-related opportunities around the arena’s concourse. “We have our back-to-school drive around that time, where we’re filling up 500 backpacks and making sure organizations that need them are receiving them,” said Holmes. “We’re so much more than a basketball team.”
