McCrae James Williams Foundation

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McCrae James Williams Foundation Advocating for Medical Amnesty and improving policy implementation and training on college campuses

08/02/2026

After nearly nine years, Chris and I have made the difficult decision to wind down the McCrae Williams Foundation.

We are incredibly proud of what we accomplished. We helped raise awareness of medical amnesty, funded research that resulted in multiple peer-reviewed publications, partnered with researchers to develop the Medical Amnesty Toolkit, and shared McCrae's story with thousands of students, parents, educators, coaches, and administrators.

Perhaps most meaningful of all, we've heard from college students who told us that what happened to McCrae inspired them to step in and get help for someone in need. Hearing from those students has been a powerful reminder that his story has made a real difference.

Our partners at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro will continue advocating for medical amnesty, using McCrae's story as a platform for change and sharing the Medical Amnesty Toolkit with colleges and athletic programs.

McCrae's legacy will also live on through the McCrae J. Williams '17 Scholarship at Noble & Greenough School. For those who have asked how they can honor McCrae's memory, gifts to the scholarship will help ensure that his legacy inspires future generations of Nobles students.

McCrae J. Williams '17 Scholarship
Noble & Greenough School
10 Campus Drive
Dedham, MA 02026

To every donor, volunteer, advocate, and friend who supported this mission over the past nine years, thank you. You helped us transform unimaginable loss into something that touched countless lives. We will always be grateful.

May the #3 continue to be a meaningful reminder of the remarkable young man McCrae was and the legacy that will continue in his name.

With heartfelt gratitude,
Dianne & Chris Williams

Chris and I spoke at the Intercollegiate Mens Lacrosse Coach Association Summit in Orlando which was attended by nearly ...
12/16/2024

Chris and I spoke at the Intercollegiate Mens Lacrosse Coach Association Summit in Orlando which was attended by nearly 700 coaches from across the country and every NCAA Division.

We shared McCrae's story and advocated for Medical Amnesty within college athletics. Our research consistently shows that Coaches play a critical role in creating a culture of care so that no one is afraid to call for help in a medical emergency. We provided tools to implement a policy and ways to educate their players so that they make better life saving decisions, if ever necessary.

We continue our mission in McCrae's honor and memory and hope to speak at similar venues in 2025.

Chris and I spoke at the Intercollegiate Mens Lacrosse Coach Association Summit in Orlando and was attended by nearly 70...
12/16/2024

Chris and I spoke at the Intercollegiate Mens Lacrosse Coach Association Summit in Orlando and was attended by nearly 700 lacrosse coaches from across the country and every NCAA Division.

In our presentation, we shared McCrae's story and advocated for Medical Amnesty for college athletes. Our research consistently shows that Coaches play a critical role so we provided tools for how to implement a policy and how to influence their players to make better decisions off the field, if necessary. No one should be afraid to call for help in a medical emergency because they fear punishment or retaliation from their Coach or teammates.

We hope to speak at similar venues in 2025.

To all friends and supporters, we thought we'd give you an update on McCrae's Foundation!This winter, we spoke at the A...
04/16/2024

To all friends and supporters, we thought we'd give you an update on McCrae's Foundation!

This winter, we spoke at the APPLE Institute’s three conferences in CA, VA and in FL. The APPLE Institute, which is aligned with the NCAA Sports Science Institute, promotes student athlete wellness and substance misuse prevention. Every year, they invite student-athletes from all 3 divisions as well as athletic administrators/trainers/coaches from the different schools.

Our presentation “Taking Action on Medical Amnesty: Recommendations for Effective Implementation of Medical Amnesty Policies within College Athletics” was well-attended and received positive feedback. Many student-athletes recognized the differences in the campus policy vs the policy that pertains to them as athletes. They felt empowered to raise awareness of medical amnesty and engage with the athletic administration on instituting a policy.

In our interactive discussions, student-athletes still unfortunately don’t trust that they are protected by Medical Amnesty as a non-athlete student is protected AND they still see coaches as the main barrier to implementing and honoring Medical Amnesty within athletics at their schools.

Since our first presentation to student-athletes at APPLE in 2020, we have noticed an increased awareness of Medical Amnesty as well as an improved culture of care among student-athletes. This is great news and very reassuring that change is happening; however, we believe there is more progress needed around the barriers to calling for emergency help and for both administrators and college coaches to honor a school’s Medical Amnesty policy.

Based upon our recently finished Delphi Study (soon to be published!) and our Coach research results, we are working on next steps for both a top-down and a bottoms-up approach for continuing our efforts to advocate for Medical Amnesty within athletics on all campuses. We will continue to keep you posted!

Thank you so much for your support over the years! With your donations, we have furthered our research which has helped us advocate for Medical Amnesty in McCrae's memory.

We are grateful for our team at UNCG and Preventative Strategies for assisting with our research/publications, presentations at APPLE, brainstorming sessions and more!

Our hearts will always be with McCrae. We will always honor him, what he stood for, how he touched so many lives, and we will continue to advocate for a culture of care in athletics and Medical Amnesty in his memory.




Address

2 Thistle Way
Nantucket, MA
02554

Telephone

+17742701022

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