Overcome by a surprising stirring in her soul to reach out and help, Cathy was determined to build a suitable field for the Barrow Whalers. Not fully understanding the many obstacles, both financially and logistically, that would line the path ahead, Cathy charged forward with a determined spirit and a heart for both the football team and the greater community of Barrow. She spearheaded a campaign that raised more than half-a-million dollars through people all around the country rallying around one common goal: changing the lives of young men through football.
This is not just the story of how the Barrow Whalers became the first high school above the Arctic Circle to have a football program. This is the story of how we are sometimes called to the most unlikely of causes and to believe in something a little bit bigger, changing our own lives and the lives of others for the better in the most unexpected of ways.
Cathy Parker and her husband, Carl, have raised four children, all at the ballfields. Cathy has experienced the extreme highs and lows of raising athletes and can relate to the toll athletics can have on the family. She founded the not-for-profits Athletes to Champions and Beyond the Ballfield to help athletes and their families deal with the realities of sports and use their influence for good.