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Palmer Trinity School rising junior Camron Acker, a former football player, has started a non-profit to raise money for Guardian Caps, protective American football gear. The caps prevent concussions.
“It goes on the top of the helmet,” he says, adding that the cap disperses the force of a hit around the helmet. “It has been able reduce the concussion rates by 40 percent. The caps have even reduced helmet temperatures by up to 18 degrees Fahrenheit, reducing further health risks.”
He plans to use the sample the company sent to show how important it is and how it can save lives.
Acker wants other football players to avoid the head injury that derailed his football career.
“I received a concussion earlier this school year playing football,” he says. “Thankfully, I had the Guardian Cap on, and it prevented it from being much worse.”
He and his parents had an agreement that he would stop playing football if he ever got a concussion.
“My parents have always been against the sport,” he says. “They wanted me to have the team sport, they wanted me to have the comradery, so I agreed, one concussion and I’d be out.”
The injury happened in September.
“I want to say when it happened, I was repeating myself,” he says. “The sun was brighter, things were louder. And I made the decision. My parents heavily encouraged me to quit, and I did.”
Now he’s raising money to help under-resourced schools be able to buy the equipment.
They cost $70-$100 per cap. He has more than $3,300 on hand so far.
He worked with his football coach to find a school that Acker could help. He’s got a time crunch because he wants to donate the caps to a school before they begin summer practice.
“It’s best used in practice,” he says. “I want to say you can opt to wear it in a game. I’m hoping I can get my first purchases soon. Hopefully before summer.”
The Guardian Caps are effective enough that Acker says the NFL has made them mandatory for all practices.
Acker started raising money by sending a Go Fund Me link to his family group chat and to his friends. Friends and the parents of friends put the link on Instagram for greater reach.
He raised a significant amount in just two weeks. While he had the link ready to go at the end of January, he couldn’t start promoting it until the end of March and then it took off. He has much more planned.
“I am hoping to have school events,” he says. “Like a table at school. And have a QR code.”
His goal is to raise $10,000.
“Ten thousand will probably be enough to fund three or four teams,” he says.
Currently he has enough for 50 caps.
By the way, Acker hasn’t completely abandoned sports. He now plays varsity lacrosse.
At school, Acker volunteers at Breakthrough Miami with some of his friends. He’s worked with the kids on arts and crafts.
“I supervised and gave them the materials they needed to be creative,” he says. “I did that during winter break.”
He plans to volunteer again during the summer.
He’s also helped at his friend’s nonprofit event to fund Argentinian tennis players that don’t have the resources to play the game. His friend organized a successful pickleball tournament.
This summer he’ll embark on an adventure. In mid-June, he and two friends are going to the Dominican Republic on a Blue Mission trip to build latrines for villagers in a remote part of the island nation.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-provide-guardian-gear-to-underprivileged-schools/cl/d?lang=en_US
Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
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