DATE: Friday, September 11, 2009
CONTACT:
Gina Russo
202-421-3578
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Working Together to Build a Field of Dreams:
Up2Us and DC SCORES Team up with Obama Administration Staff
for 9/11 Day of Service
Washington, D.C. – In honor of the first official September 11 Day of Service and Remembrance, D.C. students, community volunteers, and leading youth development and leadership organizations including Up2Us, DC SCORES, and the Corporation for National and Community Service joined forces to turn an unused lot in Northeast D.C. into a brand new soccer field for use by the Arts and Technology Academy. This Washington, D.C. field reclamation is one of thousands of service projects occurring across the nation today to honor the sacrifices of the 9/11 heroes and engage more Americans in community service.
Over the course of Friday afternoon, D.C. residents, community volunteers, parents, students and others worked to turn the unused lot into a brand new sports and soccer field. The field will be used by students at the Arts and Technology Academy for physical education class and recess. After school, it will be used by local sports teams and organizations like DC SCORES for sports-based youth development programs designed to help local students excel on the field and in the classroom.
“Sports play a critical role in the lives of our nation’s children, youth, and communities,” says Paul Caccamo, executive director of Up2Us, the national coalition focused on youth sports and positive youth development. “Youth who play team sports are healthier and more likely to succeed – both on and off the field – than kids who do not. They are more likely to form supportive relationships with peers and adults, and to be interested and engaged in their community and the world around them. Today’s project is not just about remembering the events of 9/11, but about answering a national call to service and giving back – helping to create space for D.C. kids and the community to play and learn.”
Today’s field reclamation project addresses a number of problems facing children and youth in D.C. and across the nation, including near-epidemic levels of childhood obesity; state and local budget crises that are placing sports and other extracurricular activities on the chopping block; and the lack of available space for youth sports to be played in urban areas. Participants from the Obama Administration, Up2Us, and DC SCORES helped to clean and lay new sod for the field and place new soccer goal posts. In addition, they facilitated discussions with students ages 8 to 13 about the importance of teamwork, nutrition, and community.
This event is one of hundreds taking place across the country and in the D.C. metro area. In April, President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and officially recognized September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance for the first time. This September 11, Americans will join together in service projects across all fifty states and re-commit to serving their communities. This marks the first milestone in the United We Serve initiative, President Obama’s nationwide initiative to create a sustained, collaborative, and focused effort to meet community needs. The initiative is being led by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that improves lives and strengthens communities though volunteering and service. For more information, visit www.Serve.gov.
About Up2Us – Up2Us is the leading national coalition that seeks to increase the impact of, and access to, youth sports as a tool for positive youth development. With more than 200 member organizations, Up2Us is focused on increasing the quality and quantity of youth sports programs, involving more children in sport-based youth development programs, and engaging more adults to work and volunteer with these programs.
About DC SCORES – DC SCORES strives to strengthen urban public school communities through soccer and academic enrichment. The DC SCORES after-school program gets local elementary students involved in soccer, creative writing, and community outreach. This unique program started in a handful of schools in 1994. By 2008, DC SCORES has incorporated 24 DC public and charter schools, 700+ local elementary students, and spread into a nationwide initiative, America SCORES. For more information, visit www.AmericaSCORES.org
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