The Every Kid Sports Pass program helps families pay a portion of registration fees required for youth sports participation.
BEND, OR (Nov. 2, 2021) – On the day that shadows Black Friday and Cyber Monday, organizations across the world pitch their missions to garner support and funding for numerous causes. Coined “Giving Tuesday”, this year’s global initiative for generosity kicks off on November 30. Oregon-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Every Kid Sports began promoting their “Today, Choose Play” text to give campaign in October, asking communities to donate in support of youth sports. The organization launched nationally earlier in 2021 with one goal in mind, to get 100,000 kids involved in recreational youth sports across the United States every year. On Giving Tuesday Every Kid Sports has one more target in mind, raising funds for 10,000 kids to get closer to their goal of 100,000 this year.
The text to give campaign targeted for Giving Tuesday speaks to the simplicity of giving back in a digital age focused on convenience. By texting the phrase “todaychooseplay” to 71777, donors receive a response text with a link to make a donation. The donation is funded through the donors’ Apple Pay or the input of credit card information. “We want to make it easy so the only decision someone needs to make is ‘how many kids do I want to help?’ so the process only takes about 3 minutes, ” says Bryce Elliott, Business Development and Community Activation lead at Every Kids Sports. The organization also plans to enlist its social media platforms to help spread the word of how sports have impacted lives using the hashtag #unselfie.
With the help of founding partner, DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation, Sports Matters, Every Kid Sports received $5M in funding to launch nationally. Under Armour followed with a partnership that includes an ask at checkout for customers to donate. Under Armour has committed to helping 10,000 kids play. Commitments from NFL Flag and USA Cheer followed to further promote non-tackle football and inclusivity for girls in sports. The organization recently announced the board member addition of Nick Swisher, a former MLB All-Star and World Series champion. Swisher’s role is to help propel the mission and the importance of multi-sport-athletes while providing resources for families in need. “We have a lot of momentum and have been able to help a lot of kids already this year, but the need is immense. Youth sports have been severely impacted by the pandemic and many families don’t have the resources to get their kids registered for sports. The statistics were terrible before the pandemic and now even more families need some help.” Stated Natalie Hummel, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Every Kid Sports. “We need everyone to come together to ensure every kid can play.”
Every Kid Sports provides youth sports grants to kids from income-restricted families throughout the United States. The grants allow them to register for seasonal play or sports lessons of their choosing. The organization has funded over $2M to young athletes across 47 states. The top-funded cities in the U.S. as of October include Houston, Portland, and Miami. Programs Director, Eleana Fanaika states, “Texas, Oregon, and Florida have really acclimated to our program to get kids back into sports in spite of the limitations and repercussions of the pandemic, but we’d like to see even more families submitting applications. We want to approve applications and distribute the funds as fast as they come in to get these kids back in recreational sports.”
The number-one barrier keeping kids from income-restricted families out of youth sports is cost. The average cost of getting one child into youth sports is about $150. Today, choose play and make your text to give donation to 71777.
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About Every Kid Sports
Every Kid Sports is a national 501(c)(3), a 2021 GuideStar Platinum Transparency awarded nonprofit organization that has worked since 2009 to level the “paying field” of playing youth sports by removing the financial barriers that typically prevent kids from being active through sports. Every Kid Sports has helped over 50,000 kids play sports across the country. Every Kid Sports is recognized by The Aspen Institute as a 2019 Project Play Champion, as well as a recipient of the 2019 Beyond Sports Collective Impact Award for Reduced Inequalities. Partners in their work have included DICKS Sporting Goods, Under Armour, T-Mobile, Little League International and the National Basketball Players Association Foundation. To learn more or to get involved, please visit www.everykidsports.org.
For more information regarding this announcement, please contact:
James Suri
Director of Marketing & Communications | Every Kid Sports
[email protected]
949.413.9845