Description
"America SCORES participants had an increased level of physical activity, increased reporting of feelings of self-confidence, self-efficacy, and enjoyment in learning, increased reporting of reading enjoyment and longer time reading independently, and gains in writing achievement."
White House Report on Childhood Obesity
Teaching kids to write is equivalent to teaching kids to think; giving kids the tools to write is giving them the resources to be successful in life. Combining all of this with soccer is like putting peanut butter with chocolate. I am surprised every public school hasn’t adopted an America SCORES program.
-Stephen King, Author
Every boy and girl who has kicked a soccer ball, created a poem, and helped out with a community project through America SCORES has had a chance to learn lessons that reach far beyond these activities. Lessons like how to express themselves, how to recognize their innate worth, and how to develop the faith that they can make a positive difference in this world.
-James Earl Jones, Actor
The Need
Fighting the toughest problems that face our nation’s kids today:
- More than 14 million children are left unsupervised every day after school.
- 1 in 3 kids in the US is overweight or at risk of obesity.
- 1 in 3 fourth-grade students across the nation reads below grade level.
- Students who spend no time in extracurricular activities are 49% more likely to use drugs and 37% more likely to become teen parents than those who do.
- Youth who volunteer just one hour a week are 50% less likely to abuse drugs, alcohol or engage in destructive behavior.
Organization Overview
America SCORES, founded in 1994, is a national youth development organization that uses soccer, poetry and service learning to transform the lives of inner-city children. Serving approximately 7,500 children annually in more than 140 public schools in 15 cities nationwide, America SCORES provides after-school programming during the hours when children are most vulnerable.
The Mission
Using teamwork as a unifying value, America SCORES’ mission is to inspire youth to lead healthy lives, succeed academically, and have the confidence and character to make a difference in the world. Participants show significantly improved physical fitness, higher school attendance rates, and increased self-confidence after just one season in the program.
Getting It Done
America SCORES has been recognized for excellence by the National Education Association, Reading is Fundamental, Charity Navigator, the Centers for Disease Control, and received the 2008 Coming Up Taller Award from the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. In May 2012, thirty-four America SCORES students traveled to The White House to participate in a Let’s Move Soccer Clinic with First Lady Michelle Obama and the MLS Champion LA Galaxy.
