SPORT FOR GOOD ATLANTA LEADERSHIP COUNCIL COLLABORATES WITH LOCAL & NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO PROVIDE SUMMER SPORT KITS TO 300 FAMILIES ON ATLANA’S WESTSIDE

Sport for Good Atlanta, an initiative of Laureus USA developed and disseminated 300 summer sport kits given out to families across Atlanta’s Westside neighborhoods. Due to the numerous closure of summer programming for youth and families around Atlanta, members of The Sport for Good Atlanta Leadership Council, reached out and listened to community members to identify gaps that would likely need to be filled.

The goal of these summer kits, which consist of athletic equipment including but not limited to (basketballs, soccer balls, footballs, cones, tennis balls, baseball kits, and jump ropes), sporting apparel, and other trauma informed resources, will be to keep youth and families on the Westside active and healthy during the summer months of this Covid-19 pandemic when sport and recreation activities are closed.

The initiative is supported by the YMCA of Metro Atlanta’s Leadership and Learning Center and is a collaboration of over a dozen sport based youth development organizations, nonprofits, corporations and school districts. The collaborative partners include New Balance, Atlanta Youth Rugby, First Tee of Atlanta, Girls on the Run ATL, Swem Kids, Braves Foundation, Atlanta Hawks, USA Baseball, The Ryan Cameron Foundation, Deloitte, Good Sports, Inc., Atlanta United Foundation, The Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation, Resilient Georgia, Field of Dreams Academy, The Ascent Project, SteamSport, Chris180, and Bolton & Boyd Elementary families from Atlanta Public Schools. This initiative was also made possible thanks to ongoing support of Sport for Good Atlanta’s founding partner Mercedes-Benz USA.

The bags were distributed alongside the YMCA’s Meal Delivery Initiative to families in need of the extra support during these challenging times and through the collaborative effort of all of the local and national organizations, big and small, we were able to collect over $150,000 in value of items to lift the spirits of the youth and families in our target area.

About The Sport for Good Atlanta Leadership Council

Sport for Good Atlanta, an initiative of Laureus USA made possible by support from Mercedes-Benz USA, exists to increase access for young people across the country to high quality sport-based youth development (SBYD) programs, improve coordination between youth sport stakeholders and other key decision-makers, and increase the amount of funding, resources, and awareness for sport as a solution for a city’s most challenging issues. The Sport for Good Atlanta Leadership Council works in partnership with Laureus USA staff to execute these strategies locally. This unique relationship between Laureus USA and local leaders helps to balance the power of an international foundation with the nuance of navigating local relationships and culture. The current members of the council can be viewed at https://connect.laureususa.com/cities/atlanta

For more information please contact Laureus Program Officer, Pharlone Toussaint at pharlone.toussaint@laureus.com.