Fall programming

This fall PowerPlay is gearing up to offer our STARS Series after-school program in 54 schools and community centers across New York City’s five boroughs. Girls as young as 7 up through middle school will learn sports and healthy living from positive female role models. Our coaches and volunteers are trained to teach fundamental sports skills and create a nurturing, safe space to explore topics like body image, problem-solving and bullying. Learn more about our programming here.

Funder spotlight: Alcoa Foundation

PowerPlay is honored to be awarded a $25,000 grant from the Alcoa Foundation, an increase over last year’s award. The grant will help us build on the success of this past year, allowing us to deepen our services, engage our older youth as mentors for our younger girls and serve even more girls across NYC. Thank you Alcoa for championing our cause!

Funder spotlight: The Heckscher Foundation for Children

For the second consecutive year PowerPlay will receive funding from The Heckscher Foundation for Children to support our SuperSTARS Leadership Academy for high school girls. Their award is helping us enhance college access for our girls in a holistic, year-round approach that combines college prep with socio-emotional–sports, teamwork, public speaking, mentoring, and so much more. We are grateful to Heckscher for their commitment to bettering the lives of youth throughout New York City.

Youth Mentoring:

It was so great to know I was an inspiration and a light to the girls just as they were an inspiration to me.” – Kim, 16 yrs old, coach at PS 196 in Brooklyn

After a successful first year of our youth mentor program, we’re looking forward to another great year of peer-to-peer leadership. Last year we trained and placed 31 of our Leadership Academy alum to become assistant youth coaches in our after-school programs for younger girls. The program helps fulfill the girls’ community service requirements and boosts their college applications. Read more about becoming a youth coach here.

College Visits

Athletes learn to go hard through the finish line–PowerPlay works hard to make sure our girls finish high school on time, get into college and stick with it. To make this goal a reality, we’re taking high school girls on monthly guided college tours. Students can get an inside look at campuses, gain tips on the admissions process and learn strategies on financial aid. This week we visited Queens College, led by their campus ambassadors. This year we’ll visit many local and regional colleges to increase the girls’ knowledge of the application process and help them determine the school that fits them best. Follow all the action here.

PowerPlay’s Marathon Team

PowerPlay’s TCS New York City Marathon team hails from across the globe; each one of the runners is a powerful role model for our girls. This year, these incredible women have dedicated their miles to benefit PowerPlay. Help add meaning to our miles — your gift creates opportunities for girls to play hard and gain confidence in PowerPlay’s after-school and summer programs.

• $250 creates 3 weeks of high quality after-school sports for 25 girls

• $100 sends a girl on her first college visit

• $75 puts basketballs in the hands of three young student athletes

Meet our champions here and follow our blog to learn more about why PowerPlay resonates with each of them. Stay tuned for info on joining our team for the 2016 United Airlines NYC Half Marathon!

Thank You!

A huge shout-out to Manhattan Mini Storage for donating storage space to PowerPlay. Their continued support, especially as we grow larger each year, means so much. We’re excited to extend this special offer to our community — rent with Manhattan Mini Storage and get a 15% discount when you mention PowerPlay. Thank you Manhattan Mini Storage!