COLORADO SPRINGS, Co — Across Colorado, thousands of kids lace up their shoes, grab a ball or step onto a field each year and get the chance to find a sport they love.
But not every kid gets that chance.
That is the idea behind Colorado Youth Sports Giving Day, a two-week statewide fundraising campaign aimed at helping more children participate in sports, regardless of what their family can afford.
At Columbia Elementary School in Colorado Springs, that opportunity looks like a group of girls spending their afternoons running laps, preparing for a 5K and learning what it means to be part of a team through Girls on the Run of the Rockies.
For 5th grader Amelia Hanson, joining the program came with a surprise.
“I thought it was all just about running, but it’s not,” Amelia said.
The running is certainly part of it. But for Amelia and fellow teammates, the program has also become a place to make friends and find a community.
“You get to run together with people maybe you have never thought you would get along with before, but then you realize you really get along well,” 5th grader, Kaiya Lewis said.
Those are the kinds of experiences organizers of Colorado Youth Sports Giving Day hope to make available to more children across the state.
The statewide campaign, led by the Daniels Fund and Project Play Colorado, raises money for nonprofit youth sports organizations. The campaign launched Sept. 1 and runs through Sept. 15.
Nearly $9 million was raised during the campaign's first two years, supporting organizations that use the money for needs including equipment, uniforms, expanded programming and other costs that can stand between a child and an opportunity to participate.
President and CEO of the Daniels Fund, Hanna Skandera Grady, said the goal goes beyond simply getting more kids onto a field or court.
“We believe that youth sports aren't just about playing,” Skandera Grady said. “It also was about grit, determination, perseverance, teamwork, winning and losing, all these things that shape the next generation and prepare them for life.”
For Girls on the Run of the Rockies, donations help make its programming accessible to families who may not otherwise be able to participate.
Executive Director Lisa Johnson said about 70% of the organization's participants receive scholarships or other funding. A full scholarship costs $230, while smaller donations can help cover expenses such as running shoes and 5K registration.
“Those funds directly help us serve the 5,000 girls that are in the program, but also allow us to expand programming,” Johnson said.
She said that expansion matters because access can look different from one community to another. Girls on the Run added 35 new schools for its fall season, according to Johnson.
“It allows us to continue to expand programming and get into more communities that have limited access to after-school sports and after-school activities,” Johnson said.
At Columbia Elementary, Principal Stephanie Atencio sees that impact firsthand.
Atencio said the school serves a diverse group of girls. Some already participate in several activities outside of school, while others have never run before or haven't previously had an opportunity to participate in an after-school sport.
“Girls on the Run brings all those girls together in a team where everybody's on the same playing field,” Atencio said.
The opportunity is about more than discovering whether a child is good at running, basketball, soccer or another sport.
Pam Lewis, a Girls on the Run coach at Columbia Elementary, said she watched that transformation during the school's previous season. Some girls initially didn't want to run and were encouraged to move at what the program calls their “happy pace.”
By the end of the season, Lewis said every girl completed the entire 5K.
“They went from not wanting to run a lap and walking most of the laps to running 3.2 miles in eight or nine weeks,” Lewis said.
Lewis said she hopes the girls leave the program knowing they belong to a community and have people supporting them, lessons that can continue long after the season ends.
For Amelia, one of those changes is already easy to identify.
“I feel like I have more confidence after that,” she said. “And it’s just like girl power.”
HOW TO DONATE
Colorado Youth Sports Giving Day continues through 11:59 p.m. MT on Sept. 15.
Donors can visit COLORADO GIVES Colorado Youth Sports Giving Day page, where they can browse participating organizations and choose which program they want to support.
