FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation (AFYF), one of the most active team-lead foundations in professional sports, today announced grants totaling more than $300,000 to improve youth fitness for Georgia’s youth.
The grants will fund a variety of summer sports and fitness programs serving more than 3,000 kids across the state, and help expand Falcons Fitness Zones activities for underserved youth in five metro Atlanta neighborhoods. Since launching Fitness Zones in 2005, AFYF has made physical fitness and fighting youth obesity the centerpiece of its community work.
Summer Programs Grants
Through a new relationship with the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, AFYF will expand fitness programming in Falcons Fitness Zones this summer. A $17,500 grant from AFYF will allow the Ripken Sr. Foundation to conduct Quickball clinics at Falcons Fitness Zones sites operated by the Metro Atlanta YMCA and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta. Quickball, the mainstay program of the Ripken Sr. Foundation, is an offshoot of baseball that engages kids in constant motion and physical activity, while encouraging teamwork and athletic collaboration.
“We always look for the most innovative ways to get kids moving,” said John Bare, Vice President for Sports Philanthropy and Affiliated Funds. “We're excited to bring the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation into the Falcons Fitness Zones. It's one more way we're helping kids get access to the best fitness activities.”
AFYF is also supporting the First Tee of Atlanta, creating opportunities for young people from diverse backgrounds -- particularly in southwest Atlanta -- to participate in golf at the public course in Atlanta’s John A. White Park. To date, AFYF has invested more than $165,000 to the First Tee organization, benefiting youth in metro Atlanta and Columbus, Ga.
Traditional Grants
A new grant to the Friends of Grant Park Pool promises to keep more kids active through swimming. Spurred by an AFYF challenge grant of $10,000, neighborhood residents plan to raise $40,000 to support pool improvements. With those funds, the neighborhood will be able install a zero-entry kiddie pool and shade-splash spot as a part of a larger overhaul. The grant also expands the foundation’s work in urban swimming programs. It complements AFYF’s earlier $500,000 multi-year commitment supporting USA Swimming’s Make A Splash!, a youth initiative launched in 2007 to teach swimming and the importance of water safety.
In all, AFYF is announcing 16 grants to nonprofit organizations throughout Georgia to encourage fitness through youth football and cheerleading, basketball, soccer, swimming, healthy lifestyle initiatives and other multi-sport activities. These investments will serve kids in metro Atlanta, North Georgia, and other counties statewide including Gordon, Murray, Whitfield and Stephens.
Falcons Fitness Zones Grants
The Atlanta Falcons Fitness Zones represents AFYF’s signature program to improve youth fitness. Through this initiative, AFYF has made a multi-year, $1.52 million commitment through partnerships at 30 sites with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, Metro Atlanta YMCA, YWCA of Greater Atlanta, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, GoGirlGo! Atlanta and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hall County. Through grants, partners help AFYF execute Fitness Zones programs and reach more kids.
Grants in this cycle include:
- A $22,500 contribution to the After-School All-Stars to purchase a HOPSports Training System and heart rate monitors for use at Atlanta’s Walter L. Parks Middle School. HOPSports is a multi-media, video game-like physical activity program designed to educate, entertain and engage both teachers and students. Multi-screen, music-based presentations are delivered through a projection system onto an available wall or projection screen, allowing participants to learn a range of physically active lessons including sports-specific skills, engaging kids in lessons that integrate nutrition, fun facts and physical activities.
- A $35,000 grant to the Atlanta Track Club to expand the Kilometer Kids youth running program, serving 1,000 Falcons Fitness Zones kids at Boys & Girls Clubs and YMCA sites in metro Atlanta over a 20-week period. This grant expands AFYF’s 2007 initial investment of $25,000, which introduced the program at Fitness Zones.
- A two-year, $100,000 commitment to the Vine City Health and Housing Ministry to engage youth and families in physical activity, nutrition education, health monitoring, life planning and healthy eating initiatives. The program is expected to reach 300 kids in the Vine City Falcons Fitness Zone community over the two-year period. It represents a collaborative of like-minded organizations coming together to attract kids and their families in interventions beyond traditional sports. Others included in this partnership are the Atlanta Track Club, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology and Soccer In The Streets.
About Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation
The Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation (AFYF) was established in 1985 to serve as the philanthropic arm of the Atlanta Falcons. Since Arthur Blank acquired the club in 2002, the AFYF has grown to be the largest team-funded foundation in the National Football League and one of the most active foundations in professional sports, providing more than $15 million in grants to non-profit organizations across the state of Georgia. The AFYF is committed to working with non-profit organizations throughout Georgia to reduce childhood obesity through youth fitness, sports programs, athletic field development and the Falcons Fitness Zones youth fitness signature program. For information on 2008 AFYF grant guidelines, please visit www.afyf.org.
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