The Rochester Area Community Foundation has selected 20 area youth sports and recreation programs for $329,000 in grants from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy Fund for Youth Sports.
The grants range from $5,500 to $25,000 and fund projects that will directly affect more than 6,500 youths in Monroe, Ontario, Seneca and Wayne counties, according to information from the Rochester foundation. More than 80 proposals were submitted as part of this “Built to Play” initiative to improve physical activity opportunities and reduce childhood obesity rates.
The first round of grants was made possible by a $5 million endowment fund that the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation established at the Community Foundation in 2016. The fund will provide annual and ongoing grants to support and bolster accessibility of regional youth sports and recreation programs.
The programs that received grants include the following:
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Rochester Inc. will receive $24,850 for a “Weekend Free Play Zone” program on Saturdays to provide youths the chance to participate in alternative sports and activities that are oftentimes inaccessible due to fee-based restrictions. Activities will include dance instruction, golf lessons, bowling, fencing and tennis.
• Ibero-American Development Corp. was awarded $14,720 to provide play activities in the El Camino neighborhood, including six weeks of supervised play (three hours a day, five days each week) at Conkey Corner Park and pop-up play at several pre-identified streets and sites. A neighborhood survey will provide data on interests and utilization by area youths and families.
• Pop Warner Little Scholars Inc. will receive $25,000 to refurbish 530 football helmets for the Rochester Rams at Rochester’s Henry Audubon School 33 and cover coach certification costs and transporting youths to games.
