The Foundation for Global Sports Development Shares the Olympic Experience with Boys & Girls Club Youth as the Rio Summer Olympics Near
The Playmakers Program will Offer an Unforgettable Spring Break
Experience at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A group of 50 students from Denver and Weld County based Boys & Girls
Clubs will experience first-hand what it takes to become an Olympic
Athlete. Olympic Athletes do not achieve success overnight. They set
goals and through years of hard work, perseverance, calculated decision
making, and sacrifices, they transform their dreams into reality.
Moreover, Olympic Athletes routinely practice the values of teamwork,
dedication, friendship and respect – values that all young adults should
learn and apply to their everyday lives.
The Foundation for Global Sports Development (GSD), a long-time
supporter of the Olympic and Paralympic Movement, constructed their
Playmakers Program to share the Olympic experience with underserved
youth from around the world, with the program being first introduced at
the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. Thanks in part to the collaborative
efforts of the United States Olympic Committee, in 2016 the program will
experience a milestone with its first pre-Olympic event designed to
expose youth to new levels of inspiration as they interact with athletes
who are training for the Rio Summer Olympic Games.
Beginning March 31st, The Boys & Girls Club youth will spend
4 days and 3 nights at the Colorado Springs based Olympic Training
Center. The interactive experience will open with a torch lighting
ceremony and include athlete presentations, Olympic sporting
demonstrations, team building activities and unique sport experiences,
educational sessions, and will conclude with a medals ceremony on April
3rd.
Rich Barrows, Director of the Denver Broncos Boys & Girls Club,
expressed the club’s appreciation and described the impact that this
type of programming can have on Boys & Girls Club youth. “The
opportunity to live, train, and learn new ways to live an active
lifestyle at the Olympic Training Center is an experience of a lifetime!
The last time some of our teens had this experience they influenced six
other Boys & Girls Clubs to add a healthy snack each night we are open.
We now serve over 4,000 youth a healthy snack every night.”
The Playmakers Program has a proven track record of inspiring positive
lifestyle choices in youth who participate. “We’ve had Playmakers
Program alumni come back to us over the years and tell us what a
remarkable experience this was for them,” said Dr. Steven Ungerleider,
Executive Board Member for GSD. “Playmakers youth take home the values
of Olympic and Paralympic sport and are able to apply those to everyday
life. It has been extremely rewarding to witness the positive impact
this has on their future,” added GSD Executive Board Member, David Ulich.
About Global Sports Development
Working closely with international sports federations, generous donors
and committed athletes, The Foundation for Global Sports Development
promotes sportsmanship, education, fair play and ethics among the
world’s youth. The Foundation gives special emphasis to groups and
communities that are most in need or most underserved by current
programs, including women, minorities and youth in areas where the risk
of delinquency is particularly high. Visit www.globalsportsdevelopment.org
to learn more.
About Boys & Girls Club of America
For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (GreatFutures.org)
has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as
productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, more than 4,100 Clubs
serve nearly 4 million young people annually through Club membership and
community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing
and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families
in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations
worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun,
friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis
during critical non-school hours. Priority programs emphasize academic
success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a
Harris Survey of alumni, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives.
National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at http://www.bgca.org/facebook and
http://bgca.org/twitter.
About the United States Olympic Committee
Founded in 1894 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., the United
States Olympic Committee serves as both the National Olympic Committee
and National Paralympic Committee for the United States. As such, the
USOC is responsible for the training, entering and funding of U.S. teams
for the Olympic, Paralympic, Youth Olympic, Pan American and Parapan
American Games, while serving as a steward of the Olympic and Paralympic
movements throughout the U.S. For more information, visit TeamUSA.org.
Contacts
The Foundation for Global Sports Development
Melanie Raffle,
541-683-9278
mraffle@globalsportsdevelopment.org
