WASHINGTON, July 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Laureus
Sport for Good Foundation USA
(Laureus USA) presents a Sport
for Good Congressional Recess on the National Mall, in
partnership with Playworks, Nickelodeon's Worldwide Day of Play,
and Toys"R"Us®. The event will bring together Washington D.C. area sports based youth
development (SBYD) programs, along with over 400 children, to
showcase the power of sports to improve the lives of children.
Legislators, Laureus Athlete Ambassadors, and Playworks coaches, as
well as Nickelodeon and Toys"R"Us personalities, will join together
to engage youth in a day of sports, games, and entertainment
as they advocate for the continued support of youth sports
programming nationwide.
Research has shown that youth participating in sports
demonstrate improved skills in goal setting, leadership, and
cooperation. They also tend to be more likely to attain higher
levels of education and achieve greater success in the
workforce.
"We believe that sport has a unique ability to help address some
of society's most challenging issues, especially for children of
underserved communities," said Benita
Fitzgerald Mosley, CEO of Laureus USA and Olympic Gold Medalist in Track and
Field. "We've observed how Sport for Good programs can powerfully
impact a child's life, especially when they're designed to teach
both the physical skills as well as the social and emotional skills
that help develop a well-rounded child. That's why we're in
Washington today with our
partners, to showcase these impactful programs and rally fellow
advocates to champion continued support and funding of Sport for
Good programs."
The Sport for Good Congressional Recess is being held
from 9:00am – 12:00pm in West Potomac Park. The Washington D.C. area youth in attendance will
have an opportunity to rotate through multiple stations of sport
and play led by coaches from Laureus national grants partner
Playworks. Additional stations will feature Nick-themed games and
activations, as well as SpongeBob SquarePants and
Patrick Star, who will join
Toys"R"Us President of Play (and kid employee)
Ariana Gentry, in ringing the
recess bell to kick off the event. Laureus Ambassador
Lance Thomas of the New York
Knicks will join the fun and rally the kids to the stations.
Sports, games, and activations will include football, bowling,
lacrosse, and cooperative games. The Sport for Good
Congressional Recess is also an official stop on Nickelodeon's
summer-long celebration of play, leading up to the network's
14th annual Worldwide Day of Play.
Laureus USA is committed to
improve the lives of youth and strengthen communities through the
power of sport. For more information on programs and initiatives,
please visit www.LaureusUSA.com.
About Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA - Laureus USA is a national non-profit organization
advancing the nationwide movement to use Sport for Good. We invest
in programs that are effectively using sport to improve the health,
education, employment and social cohesion of disadvantaged youth.
Since 2012, we have impacted over 480,000 youth across 110 U.S.
cities by investing in programs that use sport for social change.
We have also supported the training of over 3,300 coaches who now
serve as youth mentors in underserved communities. Learn more about
Sport for Good at www.LaureusUSA.com.
About Playworks - Playworks is the leading national
nonprofit leveraging the power of play to transform children's
social and emotional health. In the 2016-17 school year, Playworks
will reach 900,000 students at 1,800 schools in 23 U.S. cities
directly and through professional training services. We are
changing school culture by leveraging the power of safe, fun, and
healthy play at school every day. We create a place for every kid
on the playground to feel included, be active, and build valuable
social and emotional skills. Our vision is for 3.5 million kids in
7,000 elementary schools nationwide to experience safe and healthy
play every day by 2020.
About Nickelodeon - Nickelodeon, now in its
38th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for
kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first
in everything it does. The company includes television programming
and production in the United
States and around the world, plus consumer products,
digital, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S.
television network is seen in more than 90 million households
and has been the number-one-rated kids' basic cable network for 22
consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit
http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles,
characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA,
VIAB).
About Toys"R"Us, Inc. - Toys"R"Us, Inc. is the world's
leading dedicated toy and baby products retailer, offering a
differentiated shopping experience through its family of brands.
Merchandise is sold in 879 Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us stores in
the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam, and in 815 international stores and over
255 licensed stores in 37 countries and jurisdictions. With its
strong portfolio of e-commerce sites including Toysrus.com and
Babiesrus.com, the company provides shoppers with a broad online
selection of distinctive toy and baby products. Toys"R"Us, Inc. is
headquartered in Wayne, NJ, and
has nearly 65,000 employees worldwide. The company is committed to
serving its communities as a caring and reputable neighbor through
programs dedicated to keeping kids safe and helping them in times
of need. Over the past three decades, the Company has given more
than $100 million in product
donations to children's charities. Since 1992, the Toys"R"Us
Children's Fund, a public charity affiliated with Toys"R"Us, Inc.,
has also donated more than $130
million in grants. For more information, visit
Toysrusinc.com or follow @ToysRUsNews on Twitter.
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SOURCE Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA