This featured image is of the Coliseum College Prep girls’ soccer team in East Oakland making the Giveback wings with their hands. 94% of the school’s students are on free or reduced lunch.
While in the region a few weeks ago building new Napa and Sonoma packages for fundraising events, our team met with the athletic director and agreed to buy new uniforms for the boys & girls soccer teams! We are thrilled to be able to help and follow through on our mission to impact athletic programs in need.
Why did we decide to offer assistance in this area? In February, we stumbled upon an article in The San Francisco Tribune from August 2018 titled “Half the sports are gone at Oakland high schools and girls take brunt of cuts.”
From the article:
The Oakland school district abruptly eliminated half of its high school sports programs, and far more girls than boys were affected by the cuts.
Students found out this week, just days after returning from summer break, that 10 high school sports programs have been shut down in a $500,000 cost-cutting move.
Jim Coplan, Oakland Tech’s athletic director and a school affected by the cuts, said “sports contribute to the educational experience that students have in high school. Attendance is better, grades are higher, they learn lessons of teamwork, they learn how to compete in fair and balanced ways … these are all things they’re going to lose out on.”