Enriching the lives of kids by increasing athletic opportunities in schools.
Natalie Mackey guards Anna Hobby
We fund any school in Washington State and will support any of the 14 WIAA sanctioned sports. Our goal is to ensure kids have the chance to stay connected to their schools during out of school time through positive athletic experiences. The fact that school districts are slashing athletic budgets means kids are facing decreasing opportunities to engage in healthy out of school time experiences. Additionally the recent addition of charging kids “Pay to Play” fees have decreased opportunities while increasing barriers for many kids to participate in school sports. Our goal is to get kids to fill their out of school hours with healthy activity, we do this by helping school districts, schools, athletic directors, and coaches increase opportunities while removing financial barriers for kids.
- We focus our funding on activities, but when needed we purchase equipment.
- Our funds go to support any of the 14 WIAA sanctioned sports.
- We also focus on providing opportunities not typically funded by school budgets. Activities such as: sending teams to summer camps, paying entry fees into summer leagues and holiday tournaments, special events, and All Star Games.
- League Parity – the athletic programs in low-income schools are typically not as competitive as the programs in higher-income and private schools. We work to increase the competitiveness of athletic programs not being supported by booster clubs, endowments and private supporters.
- Clinics and trainings for athletic directors and coaches – we work to improve the quality of administration and coaching with a strong emphasis on fostering positive attitudes.
- GROW and MAINTAIN EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE – no need to reinvent the wheel. Our community is full of quality after school programs but many of these programs are located off school campuses and require expensive and redundant infrastructure such as transportation, staff and most expensive of all buildings. This infrastructure already exists in our local schools – it just needs our support!
Where do we focus our support?
- Poverty impacted schools and school districts in Washington State
- Middle and High Schools
- Any low income disadvantaged youth in any school who can’t afford to pay school athletic fees
- Foster kids (new initiative)
- Working with juvenile probation officers to support kids recently released from juvenile detention (new initiative)
Social Issues Addressed by Sports in Schools
- Health: Childhood Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes
- Youth Violence/Gang Prevention
- Attendance
- High School Graduation
- Education beyond High School
- Leadership Development, Self Esteem
- Substance and Alcohol Abuse Prevention
- Gender Parity – Girls Athletics
- League Parity
- Positive Coaching and Sportsmanship
