The final nominee for the December 2010 edition of Adirondack Fleece’s Get in the Game program is America SCORES Boston.
The mission of America SCORES Boston is to empower youth in Boston communities through an innovative combination of soccer leagues, writing, creative expression, and service-learning into a single after-school program. With teamwork as the unifying value, SCORES inspires youth to lead healthy lifestyles, be engaged students, and become agents of change in their communities.
In the 2009-2010 season, Boston SCORES will serve 1,500 Boston public elementary and middle school students, ages 8-14, in after-school, summer and winter programming. Twenty one percent of Massachusetts K-12 youth are entirely unsupervised in the afternoon (Afterschool Alliance, 2006).
Youth who are not enrolled in after-school programs during these hours are 50 percent more likely to experiment with drugs and alcohol, 3 times more likely to skip classes, and 5 times more likely to be “D” students according to theAfterschool Alliance, 2007. Through its mission America SCORES Boston keeps these youth safe and supervised during the high-risk after-school hours.
Additionally, in communities in Massachusetts, the childhood obesity rate is 35 percent (Mass. Health Policy Forum, 2008). Children are also not getting the exercise they need. The students attending Boston schools with SCORES programs attend physical education class only 45 minutes each week in elementary school, and 115 minutes per week in middle school (Boston Globe, 2009). Over the course of the SCORES program, SCORES participants get the exercise they need by practicing and playing soccer every week.
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Get in the Game with Adirondack Fleece!
Through our ‘Get in the Game’ campaign Adirondack Fleece profiles youth sports teams and athletic assocations from across the country. Each month one of these organizations will be voted on to receive a donation of custom embroidered fleece blankets from us. Want to nominate a organization for us to profile? Click here for our nomination form.
