Good Sports and The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation are at it again! On August 4th, we came together to host the second Sports Matter Day, and the sixth Sports Matter Truck’s tour, this time located in Chicago at the Wintrust arena. In partnership with The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation, we identified 32 youth sports organizations in the Chicago area, to gift 10,000 youth athletes with sports equipment and hosted 600+ kids for Sports Matter Day. Equipment donated included water bottles, apparel, and sports-specific training gear, so they are equipped with the proper gear to participate in the sport they love most. The equipment donated was valued at just over $1.4M.
The day started at 10 AM, groups entered the area, received a fun DSGF t-shirt and made their way to their seats for the kickoff. From there, they rotated through 8 different physical activity stations such as soccer, volleyball, and basketball and a few NEW stations including yoga, body weight training and golf. After the physical activity stations, everyone grabbed lunch and went back to the stadium seats to eat. As the kids were eating their lunch, they were all surprised with their organization’s name being projected on the jumbotron. After the organizations were celebrated, Scottie Pippen, Kahleah Copper and Allie Quigley were introduced. They each discussed the importance of both education and sport, and how they affect one’s body and mind. A few kids also got the opportunity to ask each of them questions and then play with them on the court.
The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation chose Chicago for this Giving Truck stop, because this time around, because it’s community with significant need, and they wanted to make a deeper impact by serving more organizations across the city. Together, we did just that. Through this partnership and the Sports Matter Day initiative, we’re able to create more opportunity within youth sports organizations in the city and inspire young athletes to participate in a few sports that were new to them.
Watch some videos from the day here: Journey Of America SCORES Chicago, Sports Matter Day Gifts, POV of the Sports Matter Day Dreamcaster
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