Sponsored Post - Support Roosevelt Island Youth Program Girls Soccer Team, Help Promote Female Leadership, Healthy Habits And Social Well Being Through Soccer - Matching Grant Available From Dick's Sporting Goods Foundation But May 23 Deadline

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Please Click Here for more information on the Roosevelt Island Youth Program Girls Soccer (RIYP) Team And Make A Donation To RIYP Girls Soccer. Dick's Sporting Goods Store Foundation will give a matching grant if at least $6,475 is pledged by Friday, May 23rd 6:00pm ET

According to Dick's Sporting Goods Foundation:

GIRLS (Great Inspirational Role Models’ Leadership through Soccer)
New York, NY • Soccer 9-15y/o female • Roosevelt Island Youth Program Inc

GIRLS is the Roosevelt Island Youth Program's attempt to promote female leadership, healthy habits, and social well-being through soccer.

The Roosevelt Island Youth Program Inc. has a soccer program for youth ages 5 to 15 years, split into three seasons: a competitive coed recreational league (300 participants and 60 volunteers), an indoor soccer winter program (90 players and 12 volunteers), and a spring intermural program (120 youth and 16 volunteers). This past year our Minors (7 & 8) and Juniors (9 & 10) divisions were made up of 42% girls. Past history has shown that of that group (18% higher than past years) only 10% of those girls will continue to play in our older Senior Division. While several issues play into this development, the most prevalent are: commitment to the sport because of skill set, playing with male peers and many of their female peers opting out. We hope that having girls play both in our co-ed program and all-girl teams will solve this problem.

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Why We Need Your Help

The Roosevelt Island Youth program has secured Coaches Across America’s commitment for a female soccer coach from August 2014 to September 2015. This coach will team with our Soccer for Success program to work specifically with female participants and address the issue of girls dropping out of the sport as they approach their teen years. All of our interactions with the girls have told us that if they have specialized skill training and are allowed to form age-appropriate teams, they will be able to improve their level of play and become friends with more of their female peers. This will allow them to participate at a higher skill level and become more game-savvy, which will help to keep them playing in our older divisions....

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