Good Sports launches Equip-A-Kid with Chris Archer and Jesse Palmer
Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Chris Archer and sports TV personality Jesse Palmer are advocating for fans to use Equip-A-Kid to ensure all children have equal access to sport.
Professional sports are full of stories of athletes who came from low-income situations. One organization working to make sure the financial state of children’s neighborhoods don’t limit their ability to play sports has launched a new platform called “Equip-A-Kid,” and enlisted the help of the likes of Chris Archer and Jesse Palmer to promote it.
Good Sports has been dedicated to reversing the decline in participation in youth sports since 2003. The organization has worked to facilitate the donation of necessary equipment like baseball bats and football cleats to youth, who without the donations would likely not have the opportunity to play the sports which require the items.
Good Sports has made participating in that effort even easier for individuals and groups interested in assisting in the cause with Equip-A-Kid. The virtual shopping experience allows donors to select specific items like a helmet or glove that they would like to purchase for a child to enjoy. Good Sports COO Christy Keswick is excited about the potential of the platform.
“What we have learned across time is that the [athletic equipment] industry is a huge, strong partner for Good Sports but their access is not always going to match exactly what the need is in the community,” Keswick said. “We’re very focused on not just giving the community what we get but giving the community what they need. The launch of Equip-A-Kid and other fundraising strategies we have implemented are around how can we raise money not just to support our operations but to fill the gap in buying equipment at deeply discounted prices from our partners to make sure that we are giving kids what they need and not what we get.”
Keswick and the children who will receive the equipment aren’t alone in their excitement, however. Sharing in the anticipation of what the future holds for Good Sports are the brand’s ambassadors which include professional athletes Connor Barwin of the Los Angeles Rams, Brice Butler of the Dallas Cowboys and Archer.
“What Good Sports does for kids as far as providing equipment and providing opportunities is second to none. I don’t know many other organizations that do this,” Archer stated. “The message they deliver about health and exercise and education is one of the main reasons I chose to work with Good Sports.”
Also working as a prominent face for Good Sports is former NFL quarterback, past star of TV’s “The Bachelor” and current ESPN college football analyst Jesse Palmer.
“Playing youth sports helped shape me in a lot of different ways and made a major impact on my life,” Palmer commented. “Sports taught me incredible lessons like teamwork, sportsmanship, leadership, and gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams.”
It’s providing those benefits Archer and Palmer referred to which are at the center of Good Sports’ mission. Sports are integral in the emotional, psychological and social development of adolescents and children. Limiting the experiences which can aid in that crucial cognitive development to only those youth whose support networks can afford the cost of the required equipment not only does a disservice to those youth who would be excluded and their families but the greater society, including those families.
Ensuring that all young people have equal access to sport regardless of socioeconomic status also should be of interest to sports fans. Current professional athletes like Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen have recounted their own struggles to participate in sports because of the financial cost. By working to equalize access to sport, Good Sport is working to ensure that sports fans aren’t deprived of the next generation of star professionals and fans.
“If we aren’t getting kids playing sports at that age, then they aren’t becoming fans,” Keswick elaborated. “That’s a problem for the leagues, obviously. There’s no question that we are missing out on great talent that could have been developed early on. That’s not why we do what we do, for us that’s sort of a side benefit, that we are going to get a few superstars in MLB or something like that, but there’s no question that if we expose fewer kids, certainly we’re missing out on some great stories.”
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Good Sports’ Equip-A-Kid allows everyone who has the means to play just as big a part in this endeavor as Archer and Palmer. Together, we can ensure that merit, not the size of the family bank account, is the true measure by which young people progress in sport.