Soccer in the Streets' Recipient of the BOOST Grant Award from Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Statewide Afterschool Network
Soccer in the Streets was recently awarded funding through the Building Opportunities in Out-of-School Time (BOOST) Grants Program. The grant is designed to address the learning gap by expanding access to and improving the quality of afterschool and summer learning opportunities - prioritizing students most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding for the BOOST program comes from the American Rescue Plan, and the grant program is administered by the Georgia Department of Education in partnership with the Georgia Statewide Afterschool Network.
Soccer in the Streets was selected based on the organization’s strong focus on learning outcomes beyond the sport of soccer. The three-year grant will be used to expand the social and emotional learning curriculum, college, and career readiness offerings and start an academic remediation program. We estimate that the BOOST grant funding will allow us to impact 750 additional children per year over the next three years.
“We are grateful to be a recipient of the BOOST grant!”, said Soccer in the Streets Executive Director, Phil Hill. “It is a crucial support for our efforts to address the whole child, which is especially important given the trauma experienced by so many kids over the last 18 months”.
BOOSTS grants are intended to support the learning acceleration, connectedness, and well-being of Georgia’s students, utilizing a whole-child approach. Soccer in the Streets builds the safe, supportive and engaging environment needed by children. Our programming fosters positive relationships between players that are safe from teasing and bullying while our coaches play a mentoring role in their players’ lives, ensuring that kids feel safe and cared for.
Our Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum is another key component in our whole-child approach. The curriculum helps youth master essential self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills. They master these skills in safe, healthy spaces where they can connect and engage with their friends and supportive coaches- increasing the likelihood of school and future employment success.
BOOST grant funding will also help strengthen our efforts to help players become college and career-ready. Workshops to expose and engage players to college processes and options and lead career fairs with community partners are planned.
Soccer in the Streets was founded on the belief that soccer can play an important role in the development of young people both on and off the field. This grant award recognizes our effort and will allow us to make an even greater impact as we lead youth down the path to become successful leaders in their communities.
“The Georgia Statewide Afterschool Network (GSAN) offers its congratulations to Soccer in the Streets on being named a BOOST grantee!” says Katie Landes, GSAN Director. “Their out-of-school-time programming is a critical piece of Georgia’s effort to address the learning loss and developmental and social needs of children and youth impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We fully support their efforts to help young people thrive and look forward to the stories of success that are sure to follow!”
To Learn More: https://www.afterschoolga.org/boost/