Maine Athletes Using NIL To Help Lewiston’s Continued Recovery From Mass Shooting

Maine athletes are using NIL to do their part to help Lewiston recover from the mass shooting that occurred a year ago.

Pictured left to right: Greg Glynn, Founder & CEO of Pliable; Kyle Hersey, co-owner of Aroma Joe's locations in Augusta, Maine; Amber Bretton, softball player at the University of Connecticut; Tom Pepdjonovic, co-owner of Northeast Sports Card Expo, and George Pepdjonovic, co-owner of Northeast Sports Card Expo take a photo on Sunday, October 20 after the event. / Mandatory Credit - Pliable Marketing

Just over a year ago, Lewiston, Maine was hit hard by tragedy. A mass shooting resulted in the death of 18 people and 13 more being injured on October 25th, 2023.

A year later, ceremonies were held in remembrance of the victims. Several speakers spoke to the people who were there to offer support to those who needed it the most.

Looking to do their part to help, some Maine athletes are taking advantage of NIL deals to offer their support. The trio of athletes are led by Natalie Beaudoin, who designed “We Are Lew1ston” t-shirts last year after the mass shooting in her hometown.

This year, Beaudoin is teaming up with two more Maine athletes, Amber Bretton and Kaylyn Bourque to sign an NIL deal with Northeast Sports Card Expo to raise awareness and money for the One Lewiston Resiliency Fund.

A two-day expo was held to help raise funds for the nonprofit organization. The athletes and Pliable Marketing donated $225 to help with the cause as well.

Beaudoin is a Pliable athlete who is helping with promoting their new t-shirt with “Strong Together” across the front that was designed by Pliable Marketing and Aroma Joe’s to bring attention to how important a sense of community is.

Pictured left to right: Natalie Beaudoin, women's basketball player at the University of Vermont with Alyssa Bourque, member of the track and field team at the University of Vermont. / Mandatory Credit - Pliable Marketing

Through the final day of 2024, all proceeds from articles of clothing sold with the slogan on the front will benefit One Lewiston Resiliency Fund.

A member of the Vermont women’s basketball team, Beaudoin was unable to attend the event in person but actively promoted it on social media. This is the second NIL partnership she has had with the Northeast Sports Cards Expo. In addition, she is a community ambassador for Aroma Joe’s of Maine and New Hampshire.

"Natalie showed her passion for her community in Lewiston last year and it's why we wanted to work with her. Working together on the new T-shirt design, we can help support her efforts. She has set the bar high for our other community ambassadors and we are so proud of her, and the positive impact that all our community ambassadors are making in their communities and beyond. We were proud to support this event this year and we're already making plans to support it again in April. We are also excited to see how many shirts we can sell by the end of the year," said Crystal Brown, Community Marketing Manager for Aroma Joe's Development Office of Maine and New Hampshire, via a release.

Bourque, who is a high school senior at Kents Hill School, will be attending Nichols in college and will be playing ice hockey and lacrosse, attended the event on October 19th to do an autograph signing and meet and greet with attendees.

Bretton was present on October 20th, doing the same duties. Their trading cards were given to people in attendance and they helped encourage the purchase of raffle tickets to help the cause. She is a first-year player on the UConn softball team.