ABOUT US
Kick It for a Cause, Inc. is a charity kickball tournament turned nonprofit organization located in Woburn, Massachusetts. Our mission is to raise awareness and funds for suicide prevention through intramural kickball tournaments, scholarships, educational programs, and legislative action.
Noah Dhaliwal – Co-Founder
Noah Dhaliwal is a Woburn native and a current Boston College senior, a member of the class of 2024 within the Carroll School of Management. He has been active in volunteer work all his life, helping out with political campaigns when he was young by holding signs, serving food to participants at cancer walks, to being a staff member at several different ProCamps events. He currently works with the FYE office at Boston College with programs including Orientation and Compass Mentoring. The idea to create an event like Kick It, came from a long-lasting desire to give back to his community and inspiration from the story of his co-founder Sam Gerry.
Sam Gerry – Co-Founder
Sam Gerry is a current senior at Bates College. In addition to his work at Kick It, Sam works as an undergraduate research assistant at the Hamilton Lab (Rutgers University) and the CALM Lab (Bates College) studying the impact of sleep/social media use on adolescent suicide and multicultural mental health, respectively. Within his advocacy, Sam has previously worked with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the American Association of Suicidology, Born This Way Foundation, and was named the 2022 recipient of Mental Health America's mPower Award. While at Woburn High, Sam was the president of National Honor Society and the captain of the varsity golf team.
Emily Correia – Director
A native to Woburn, Emily has been with Kick It since its first tournament in 2019. Since then, she has assumed responsibility for tournament marketing and organization. Emily has spent her last few years at local food hub Dole & Bailey as Director of Marketing. When she is not creating food advertisements, Emily is on the volleyball court coaching athletes statewide on how to establish a strong mental foundation within themselves. Emily has publicly spoken out about sexual assault, especially from her own experiences in the LGBTQ+ community, and hopes to tell her own story and amplify others through her own work with Kick It.
Ari Capozzi – Project Manager
Ariana Capozzi is currently a senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is on the Dean’s list at the Isenberg School of Management. Ari serves as a peer mentor and active member of the Marketing Committee for the Isenberg Women in Business club. She is also a part of Protect Our Breasts, an organization that educates others of harmful toxins in everyday products. Her interest in volunteer work began in high school where she was a participant of the Spreading Sunshine community service group. She is very excited and honored to be able to help create campaigns and initiatives with the rest of the Kick It Team to raise awareness for this important cause.
Thalia Chaves – Community Outreach Director
Thalia Chaves is a senior at Boston College majoring in International Studies and minoring in Managing for Social Impact. She joined Kick It because she is a passionate advocate for mental health and hopes to work in non-profits after attending law school.
Mac Alexander – Event Photographer
Mac Alexander graduated from Boston College High School in 2020. While in his senior year he dove into the field of Real Estate Photography starting the business MacDrone Media. Mac wanted to join Kick It not only because of his long time friendship with Noah but also his personal experience with the harmful effects of depression and anxiety.
Kristian Lamarre – Event Videographer
Kristian Lamarre is currently a senior at Boston College. He currently does photography and film for Boston college admissions as well as for the athletics teams on campus. In addition, Kristian do photography for The Heights, the student-run newspaper, as well as the Social Fellows, the photography and film club that runs the social media accounts at Boston College. He has spent the last few years of his life devoted to Christianity, schoolwork, and philanthropy. Kristian loves to do volunteer work for organizations and charities to spread the social good. Additionally, he has participated in extensive volunteer work and traveled on various mission trips in order to gain a broader perspective about diverse groups of people and places. One of the organizations he has had the privilege of participating in for the past three years is called A Shot for Life Challenge (ASFL). A Shot For Life Challenge is a highly competitive basketball fundraising event. The money raised by the ASFL Challenge benefits brain cancer research at the Massachusetts General Hospital Dr. Curry Research Lab. Ultimately, he believes my continued contribution each year helps to bring awareness and financial gains to raising money towards this research, which may one day help find a cure that will save many lives. He has now joined the Kick It team to further extend his involvement in this field and be a part of impacting the lives of others.