The grants will fund 14 programs and reach more than 25,000 youth
Press Release – LOS ANGELES (March 30, 2017) – The impact of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games endures; today, the LA84 Foundation, a legacy of those games, awarded nearly $1.7 million in grants to 14 school-based and community youth sports organizations.
LA84 has been a game-changer in youth sports for over 30 years, investing over $230 million throughout Southern California’s communities. With these grant awards, an additional 25,000 young athletes will join the over 3 million youth impacted by LA84’s work and mission.
“In a time where we need to come together more than ever to keep our youth engaged, active and healthy, sports give us a common bond and a way to invest in our future leaders. LA84 is proud to support grantees that empower youth to accomplish anything they put their mind to, on and off the field,” LA84 Foundation President & CEO Renata Simril said.
So, where are LA84’s grantees changing lives?
Downtown, in Little Tokyo, a $125,000 grant completes a community project decades in the making. The Budokan of Los Angeles facility will offer two gymnasiums for martial arts, volleyball and basketball leagues for underserved youth in the surrounding neighborhoods. Through sport, the diverse communities of Downtown Los Angeles and beyond will converge as young athletes pursue their dreams.
In Downtown, South and Central Los Angeles, Street Soccer USA is creating a pilot program for a league for homeless youth. A $75,000 grant will help launch the program, bringing hope and a support system to the youth and their families who need it most.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Whittier will receive a $45,000 grant to give 12 elementary schools and their students a much-needed afterschool sports program. In a Service Planning Area where two-thirds of children are not obtaining the recommended amount of exercise, a new door of possibilities opens.
At the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena, hundreds of low-income third-graders will learn how to swim as part of their school curriculum thanks to a more than $60,000 grant. These young swimmers soak up invaluable skills and take home vital knowledge to share with their family and friends. Knowledge that can save lives.
LA84’s $39,000 grant to the Positive Coaching Alliance will train over 1,500 coaches in 2017. As the nation’s most significant Olympic legacy organization, LA84 has trained 80,000 coaches. The foundation also hosts the world’s premier sports library and digital resource center, at www.la84.org, with more than 4 million downloads in 2016.
LA84’s $500,000 grant to the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Beyond The Bell Program enables every single LAUSD middle school student to participate in team sports without paying a dime. Over 12,000 kids across LA can play any of nine sports – boys, girls or co-ed – ranging from basketball and soccer to rugby and flag football.
Because of LA’s BEST’s tireless work since 1988, 193 LAUSD elementary schools offer not only afterschool sports, but summer leagues. A $375,000 LA84 grant will help LA’s BEST put more than 12,500 kids on the right path. Play Rugby USA, recipients of an LA84 grant in excess of $77,000, will also continue to work with LAUSD schools and other partners to introduce youth across Los Angeles County to a sport they may have never discovered otherwise.
The Southern California Professional Golfers Association Junior Tour is making their sport more accessible for teenage girls in Riverside and San Bernardino County with an LA84 grant, while the Southern California Tennis Association develops youngsters’ love for the sport with a $150,000 award. The West Valley Eagles Youth Football Association serves youth in the San Fernando Valley, while the Long Beach YMCA, powered by a $75,000 grant, offers archery, skateboarding, cycling, surfing and kayaking programs. Students Run LA, recipients of a $75,000 award, trains students for the LA Marathon, while Catholic Charities of LA puts nearly 2,000 youth from underserved areas into organized soccer leagues thanks to a $25,000 grant.
One player, one coach or one mentor at a time, LA84 and its grantees are supporting the next generation and will continue to cut a wide swath of positive impact.
