Empowering Kids to Play Every Day with Nickelodeon

We are thrilled to officially announce our national partnership with Nickelodeon. Together, we will inspire youth to lead healthy lifestyles through the transformative power of sport and play. To kick off the partnership, we have made grants to five after-school sport programs in underserved communities to help support their mission and expand their impact. These grants are an important part of Nickelodeon’s ongoing health and wellness efforts, as it uses its global  platforms to educate kids about the importance of playing every day.

“At Nickelodeon we are excited about expanding opportunities for kids and play in collaboration with Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA and its partners that offer best-in-class athletic, academic and youth development programs.  We are proud to highlight these five programs with a Nickelodeon PLAY grant because they align with Nickelodeon’s mission to make the world a more playful place.” – Jean Margaret Smith, Senior Vice President of Nickelodeon Public Affairs and Administration Last year, we teamed up with Nickelodeon to host play days across the country that invited hundreds of youth to try a variety of sports and physical activities. Now, we have made grants in five major cities: New Orleans, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York City and Chicago. As an experienced grant-maker in the sports-based youth development space, Laureus USA will administer these grants and assist with monitoring and evaluation.

“Nickelodeon truly cares about the health and wellness of its youth audiences, and we are honored to partner with them in making a positive impact on cities across the country. These grants will provide more youth the opportunity to achieve healthy lifestyles, which we know will lead to brighter futures.” – Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, Olympic Gold Medalist and CEO of Laureus USA

In New Orleans, we have made a grant to support Didbia DREAM, which provides youth a safe and constructive space for youth to play after-school and develop their social and emotional skills. In Chicago, we are supporting XS Tennis, an afterschool tennis program that also focuses on academic achievement that is available for free to youth in the South Side. In Los Angeles, we have made a grant to Woodcraft Rangers to support their all-girls sports programs at local elementary schools. In New York City, we are supporting Play Rugby USA, who engages youth across all 5 NYC boroughs in after-school rugby programs that also focus on academic achievement. In Atlanta, we are supporting Atlanta Track Club and their free, incentive-based running program Kilometer Kids that promotes and healthy and active lifestyle to children aged 7-14.

Together we will continue to advocate for kids to be active on a daily basis, and works towards making the world a more playful place one community at a time.