Expanding Summer Sports and Camp Opportunities for Oakland Youth
Photo credit: Desmond Gribben for Eat. Learn. Play.
PLAY is an essential part of our Eat. Learn. Play. mission. This summer, we are expanding our efforts with six community partners; creating more opportunities for youth in Oakland to experience the joy of sports and physical activity. By providing access to sports and safe spaces for kids to play we are working to address the barriers preventing 90% of Oakland girls and 79% of boys from getting the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity.
Street Soccer USA has understood the importance of play since they launched their first after-school and community youth soccer clubs in Oakland six years ago. We began working with their team this summer to grow programming in communities with limited access to high-quality and accessible sports activities. By supporting expansion into Oakland’s Eastmont, Elmhurst Park, Fruitvale, and West Oakland neighborhoods, more than 250 additional youth in Oakland will be able to participate in Street Soccer programming. The grant also supports weekend tournaments through their Oakland Street League, which brings together teams, neighborhoods, and community-based organizations across Oakland to play, build friendships, and test their skills.
The thrill of seeing zoo animals up-close, learning about conservation, and having fun outside with friends are experiences we want every Oakland kid to have access to, and so do our new partners at Oakland Zoo. Through our partnership, we are reducing the barriers to camp by providing 25 scholarships to ZooCamp this summer. We also support a pilot program in which fresh produce is delivered to camp so that each camper gets fresh fruit and veggie snacks daily. In addition, we are investing in new camp equipment such as shade structures to support campers spending more time outdoors.
Oakland Lacrosse annually introduces lacrosse to over 2,000 youth, with close to 200 youth from 13 partner schools participating in their free year-round program. By targeting OUSD students in middle and high school, our new partners at Oakland Lacrosse use the sport to provide academic support, leadership development, college counseling and wellness coaching. Their Summer Ambassador Program trains 25 high school students to lead introductory lacrosse sessions with our partners at Oakland Parks, Recreation & Youth Development Town Camp. In addition, Oakland Lacrosse has committed to increasing girls’ sports opportunities by building an eight team varsity girls’ lacrosse league in partnership with Oakland Unified School District.
Books and bikes. What could be better than that? Our partners at the Oakland Public Library are using both to build relationships in the community. At a time when only one in three kids nationwide are reading at grade level, their East Oakland Initiatives Team is taking books and resources outside the library’s four walls and into neighborhoods that have typically been overlooked. They will also use their bike fleet to help stock our Eat. Learn. Play. Little Town Libraries by curating a diverse collection of high-quality BIPOC books that reflect Oakland communities. The team also noticed that there were no bike repair resources in East Oakland, so they created their own fix-it clinics to connect with kids (and adults), talk about library services, and encourage physical fitness.
Our new partners, Oakland Genesis, use soccer as a tool to empower, educate, and inspire Oakland’s leaders of tomorrow. The core of their mission is inclusivity. They deliver cost-free youth development programming to Oakland youth from underserved communities, channeling their passion for soccer into personal growth, educational achievement, and life success. We proudly support their summer after-school programs, impacting over 100 kids at three OUSD campuses, as well as their work with our mutual partners OPRYD Oakland Town Camp; providing quality soccer programming to staff at all 18 summer sites plus the equipment needed to introduce soccer to over 850 Oakland campers.
We are thrilled to be the presenting partner for Oakland Parks, Recreation & Youth Development Town Camp for a third consecutive year; supporting their summer programming and the Town After School Program during the school year. With 20 participating recreation centers, Town Camp and Town After School locations reach nearly every corner of Oakland, providing much-needed recreation, enrichment, and academic programs for kids ages 5-13. We are proud to work with Oakland Town Camps to provide even more support for scholarships, supplies, transportation, and equipment to get kids swimming, eating nutritious meals, playing, learning, and exploring this summer and throughout the year.
When we talk about play, we mean more than just winning and losing. We play to lift each other up, build community and support youth with the skills they need to succeed on and off the field. Learn more about how we are working together with our community partners to remove barriers to play and create safe spaces for all Oakland children to be physically active and participate in youth sports.
