COLORADO SPRINGS — A new after-school program is coming to the Southeast side of Colorado Springs after Pikes Peak United Way, Colorado Springs Sports Crop, and Junior Achievement came together.
They will offer a free sports and financial literacy program to children in the area.
"A program like this really focuses on those children who first of all don't have the financial means to join a team to be involved in any kind of outside-of-school athletic program," said CEO of United Way Pikes Peak Cindy Aubrey.
The program plans to keep the student-to-coach ratio small to allow for individual attention. Organizers say they hope to instill lessons from sports that students can take off the court.
"Sports propel people, and become, help become who they are learning, teamwork, learning how to handle the losses, and learning what to do when you don't play well, and learning how to be humble when there's victory," said CEO of Colorado Springs Sports Corp Megan Leatham.
Besides the football, basketball, and other sports being offered, they also hope to teach some complex money
issues in a simple way.
"Learning to trust the bank in town, it's learning that you can start a business, it's learning what a credit score is, and how you can positively impact your community," said the CEO of Junior Achievement of Southern Colorado Anji Roe Wood.
The program was able to receive funding from the Daniels Fund. It will run for the 2023-2024 school year and is expected to start in mid-September. Registration opens on August 1st.
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