Springfield football game promotes regional togetherness

The Hampden County Sheriff's Department is taking a different approach to building positive relationships with local teens using a football game at Springfield Central High School to lead by example and promote kindness, respect and sportsmanship. 22 News reporter Lexi White joins us live in studio with how the game is uniting the community. CR officials say they want to show students why stopping violence and increasing kindness matters. Bringing people together for an evening many enjoy a high school football game. Changing the story and rewriting the future. Sure, that's the goal for the Hampden County Sheriff's Department. After a deadly shooting outside a girls' basketball game in Holyoke last weekend and violence in the region, people want to see a difference in the community. And to help change the narrative from the way things have been going, the Hampden County Sheriff's Department is doing none other than setting an example at the Springfield Central and East Longmeadow High School football game. And it didn't take long to see everyone cheering together. And that is high school unity. That is how you set an example. As part of the U.S. United's nationwide effort commemorating togetherness, the Hampden County Sheriff's Department wants to show local teens that violence is not the answer. Some of the incidents that have happened in our county, I want to commend the law enforcement efforts, but it's reactionary, right? Tonight's about proactivity. It's about setting the table so those incidents don't happen. More than 100 high school football games are participating in this initiative across the country, bringing students from different schools together, giving them a chance to get to know one another. And students at the game in Springfield say, I feel like there's so much violence going on in the world that we need to all get together and know that we're a community and stop the violence and stop people getting harmed. Leaders are encouraging students, athletes, and community members to tackle their differences with kindness. And they're using football to drive that message home. The goal? To bridge the gap between neighboring communities, rival schools, and show students how they can help make the change. Working for you, Lexi White, 22 News.