Today we’d like to introduce you to Lizeth Turk and Mackenzie Leahy.
Lizeth and Mackenzie, please share yout story with us.
We were lucky. We were fortunate to be born into families with the means to pay for us for play the sports that we loved.
Over the years, as coaches and athletes, we have seen the effects that sports can have on kids. As athletes compete, they develop and acquire skills that, over time, they can carry into other aspects of their lives. Skills such as: grit, learning to work well on a team, self-confidence and dealing with adversity. Research shows that students who participate in sports get better grades, graduate at higher rates and have more confidence. These athletes go on to get better jobs with better pay later in life. The benefits of high school sports last a lifetime: 90% of female CEOs were athletes.
For the overwhelming majority of students, participation in competitive athletics ends after high school. Most athletes won’t compete in college but our goal, first and foremost, is to give all athletes equal opportunity to get there. And to get the most out of their high school teams.
Our respective teams and coaches have helped shaped the people we’ve become and we want to use that, in turn, to shape the lives of high school athletes. This is our passion. This is how we got here, this is why we’re here. This is the 38 Foundation.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Since launching in January, there haven’t necessarily been struggles, but there have definitely been learning experiences. With each event we host, we learn something new and we continually learn to stay flexible and willing to adapt our message as we learn more about the needs of the schools that we sponsor with.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The 38 Foundation – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Did you know the average cost to participate in one sport at a public high school is $400 per student, per season? This cost can be prohibitively high for many students. Don’t all children deserve an equal opportunity to succeed?
Many of us have reaped the benefits of school athletics: team skills, resilience, grittiness, hard work and – in some cases – gaining access to invaluable opportunities in higher education. Cost shouldn’t prevent children from accessing the innumerable assets that come from participating in middle and high school sports. That’s where we come in.
The goal of the 38 Foundation is to take the privilege out of middle and high school athletics. We want to make sure that student-athletes throughout the U.S. have the opportunity to play the sports that they love; whether that means sponsoring travel costs or providing much-needed equipment.
At its core, the 38 Foundation believes that all children deserve the equal access to opportunity; opportunity to develop confidence, improve leadership skills and to access the many opportunities provided by high school athletics. Help us develop the leaders of tomorrow.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Our plans for the future include being able to full subsidize an athletics program that is on the verge of being cut. We want to continue to provide students with the access to sports that may not get as much funding as others. As we continue to grow we want to be able to provide as much support as we can to schools that are in need. As of now, we are staying the course that we started on in terms of how we fundraise, but as we grow we hope to be able to expand our fundraising efforts to an even bigger audience.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.the38foundation.org
- Email: lizeth@the38foundation.org mack@the38foundation.org
- Instagram: @the38foundation
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the38foundation/
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