U.S. Soccer Foundation awards 8 grants for safe soccer play spaces
Washington, DC (Via U.S. Soccer Foundation) – The U.S. Soccer Foundation has awarded eight grants to help build and enhance soccer play spaces in eight communities across the country. The grants, totaling $358,010, are awarded as part of the Foundation’s Safe Places to Play program and will fund project costs for design, construction, surfacing, and other enhancements. In total, the grants will allow access to safe playing spaces for nearly 40,000 youth and adults.
“Too often, youth don’t have access to safe places to play in the areas where they live and go to school,” said Ed Foster-Simeon, President & CEO of the U.S. Soccer Foundation. “These grants will help communities build or enhance play spaces and support needed recreational opportunities for youth and community residents.”
Fall 2017 grant recipients include:
- Advocates for Academic Excellence in Education Inc. (New Orleans, LA)
- City of Fontana (Fontana, CA)
- City of Ridgefield (Ridgefield, WA)
- Concordia College New York (Bronxville, NY)
- District of Columbia International School (Washington, DC)
- Kanawha County Commission (Charleston, WV)
- Play Soccer Nonprofit International (Trenton, NJ)
- Yardley Makefield Soccer (Newtown, PA)
Children across the United States, especially those living in underserved communities, face an acute shortage of safe places to play largely because there isn’t enough space in which to create them or funding to maintain them. Safe Places to Play gives kids safe and accessible areas to play by transforming underutilized spaces into soccer fields.
Support for the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s grant process is provided by the Foundation’s corporate partners, including AstroTurf, Hunter Industries, Kwik Goal, Musco Sports Lighting, Soccer.com, and Sport Court.
