The tournament doubled as a toy drive for children affected by violent crimes, and it's all part of the "Remembering Julia" campaign.
Julia Briggs was a 13-year-old lacrosse player who came up with the idea shortly before she died of cancer, and a lot of children affected by violent crimes in the Houston area have taken comfort in a new stuffed animal thanks to her legacy.
Her family and teammates took up her cause after her death, and they have collected 10,000 stuffed animal donations for the Houston Police Department and other agencies in the past five years.
Julia's coach, who's also an HPD homicide investigator, saw firsthand how a stuffed animal helped a nine-year-old girl who'd seen her brother beaten.
"A large stuffed animal of a dog; she just squeezed it and squeezed it," Sgt. Brian Harris said. "It helped calm her down, and we were able to conduct a very thorough, powerful interview."
If you want to help Remembering Julia, visit www.burningflower.com.
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