Natalie Beaudoin was on vacation in Florida when an armed gunman killed 18 people and injured 13 in Lewiston on Oct. 25.

She soon returned to her hometown and started a fundraising initiative of selling T-shirts that say, “We are Lew1ston,” to raise proceeds for shooting victims.

Lewiston senior basketball player Natalie Beaudoin wears one of the “We are Lew1ston” shirts she is selling to raise money for victims of the Lewiston shootings. Submitted photo

The Lewiston High School senior and girls basketball team captain signed a National Letter of Intent on Wednesday to play at the University of Vermont starting next year. She already has a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with Pliable Marketing.

“In the past week, I have been looking for ways to help my home city of Lewiston during these last few devastating says,” Beaudoin said in a news release sent last week by Pliable. “I have heard the same thing from many others as well. While we can’t change what has happened, what we can do is support one another to change the future.”

She said that with all the incredible support from around the globe aimed at Lewiston, she was inspired to create clothing that reflects “who we are as a city” and keep the Lewiston spirit alive for “what we as a city, state and country can be in the future. We are one.”

To signify that oneness, the “i” in Lewiston is replaced with the numeral “1” on the shirts.

Beaudoin said that within hours of hearing the news of the shooting, she hopped on a Zoom call with her agent at Pliable to create the shirts. Her NIL deal provides her “athlete branding services, including access to a wide range of partnership opportunities with local and national companies,” according to a release from Pliable.

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to fix anything that happened, but I definitely knew that I wanted to help,” Beaudoin said Wednesday at her national letter of intent signing ceremony. “So the T-shirt kind of became a way for me to help raise money for all the families that were affected by the shooting.”

Lewiston has been Beaudoin’s home for her entire life, and she said the news of the shooting was shocking and devastating. While she doesn’t know the exact figures, last she checked Beaudoin said shirt campaign had raised just over $700, and 100% of that will go to the affected families.

“I love living in Lewiston, and I feel like we are we really are just one big community and I wanted to be able to give back to that,” Beaudoin said.

Choosing the University of Vermont for college was also something she attributed to her upbringing in Maine, because she said Burlington has a similar feel to her beloved hometown.

“She’s just an unbelievable human,” said Abiola Davids, Beaudoin’s AAU coach for the Maine Firecrackers, who has known and coached her for several years. “What she’s done for her community — obviously, in lieu of recent events — just what she continues to do for this community. She is an advocate for the women’s game. She’s an advocate for youth sports. She’s an advocate for her community. She’s proud to be from here.”

The Pliable news release said Beaudoin worked closely with founder and CEO of Pliable, Greg Glynn, to create the online fundraiser. Beaudoin said she wanted to use her platform as an athlete through social media to make an immediate impact and support the people of Lewiston and the state of Maine.

“When the mass shootings took place in Lewiston, I immediately thought about Natalie,” Glynn said in a release by Pliable. “Knowing her personality, I knew she would want to find a way to help. I am so proud of Natalie for her courage and passion to take on this work, she is an amazing person.”

The “We are Lew1ston” T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and long-sleeve shirts are available for purchase online through Manchester-based DR Designs at wearelewiston1.itemorder.com/shop/home. Monetary donations also can be made there.