Dick's Sporting Goods and The Dick's Sporting Goods Foundation Pledge to Provide Access to Sports for One Million Young Athle...

NEW YORK, July 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, DICK'S Sporting Goods and The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation announced at its Sports Matter panel event – moderated by Gruden along with Advisory Board Members Fitzgerald and Rose as well as U.S. Women's National Soccer Team star Alex Morgan, DICK'S Chairman & CEO Ed Stack, Women's Sports Foundation Senior Director of Research and Programs Dr. Marjorie Snyder and Harlem Lacrosse Alumni Jordany Baltazar – a pledge to provide access to sports for one million youth athletes over the next five years.  As part of this effort, DICK'S also announced it will match up to $1 million in donations made by customers to The DICK'S Foundation at DICK'S store checkouts or at SportsMatter.org from July 14 through September 13, 2019.

"Since 2014, DICK'S and The DICK'S Foundation have helped more than one million young athletes across the country play sports; however, new research we commissioned confirms there is still significant challenges impeding access to sports for many kids," said Stack.  "That is why we announced today our goal to provide access to sports for another one million young athletes over the next five years."

DICK'S latest philanthropic commitment was informed by two studies recently commissioned by The DICK'S Foundation – one conducted by the RAND Institute and another by Women's Sports Foundation. The studies provided actionable insights regarding the barriers to youth sports participation, and the benefits for kids who play. Additionally, to expand on the data surrounding girls' sports participation, DICK'S announced today it will continue to partner with the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) to conduct additional research on youth entry, participation and retention, in sports.

A sampling of key findings from the studies included:

State of Youth Sports:

• 63% OF SCHOOL SPORTS BUDGETS ARE STAGNANT OR DECREASING¹
• 24% OF HIGH SCHOOLS DON'T OFFER SPORTS²
• HIGH-POVERTY SCHOOLS OFFER 1/3 FEWER SPORTS & SPORTS TEAMS THAN LOW POVERTY SCHOOLS²
• 58% OF COMMUNITY-BASED SPORTS FEES ARE RISING¹
• 42% OF FAMILIES OF MIDDLE AND HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN SPORTS BUT ARE INTERESTED IN DOING SO CITE COST AS THE MAIN REASON¹
• 56% OF TEEN GIRLS DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN SPORTS COMPARED TO 48% OF TEEN BOYS²

Benefits of Youth Sports:

• STUDENT ATHLETES ARE LESS LIKELY THAN NON-ATHLETES TO BE DEPRESSED²
• STUDENT ATHLETES HAVE HIGHER SELF-ESTEEM²
• STUDENT ATHLETES ARE MORE LIKELY TO GET HIGHER GRADES AND ASPIRE TO ATTEND COLLEGE²

To further support its mission, The DICK'S Foundation created its first-ever Sports Matter Advisory Board  centered on the impact that sports had on each of the influential sports figures as well as the current challenges that face youth sports.  In addition to Gruden, Fitzgerald and Rose, beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings, LPGA champion Annika Sorenstam, skiing gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, and LeBron James' long-time business partner Maverick Carter all serve as Sports Matter Advisory Board members and have partnered with The DICK'S Foundation to provide additional opportunities to young athletes in their respective sport or local community.

This year alone, DICK'S and its Foundation have provided over $20 million in grants and sponsorships to support deserving schools and organizations, including $1 million to help build a new gym for students at LeBron James' I PROMISE School in Akron, Ohio; $265,000 to the Beyond Sports Foundation for its Sport for Reduced Inequalities Collective Impact Award; and over $780,000 to Girls on the Run to expand their mission to inspire and encourage young girls to be healthy and confident.

For more information on Sports Matter, visit SportsMatter.org.

About The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation
The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation is an exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation with a mission to inspire and enable sports participation.  It was created by DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. as a private corporate foundation to support DICK'S charitable and philanthropic activities.

Contact DICK'S Sporting Goods: [e-mail]

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¹ RAND Corporation: Who Plays, Who Pays? Funding for and Access to Youth Sports, July 2019; data based on survey samples of parents of kids in grades 6-12, middle and high school administrators, and community organization sports leaders. Samples are not nationally representative.

² Women's Sport Foundation: The State of High School Sports in America, July 2019

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SOURCE DICK'S Sporting Goods

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