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2024 Grants Challenge

Ready, Set, Gold!

Ready, Set, Gold! believes that access to physical fitness is a fundamental right and strives to provide every child with the opportunity to benefit from the gift of movement. Our athlete mentors, including Olympians and Paralympians, impart valuable life lessons through sports, fostering healthy and active lifestyles among students in Southern California. This grant will enable us to extend our reach to more Title 1 schools in Los Angeles, expand our athlete roster, and support our mentors' vital work with stipends.

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What is the primary issue area that your application will impact?

K-12 STEAM education

In what stage of innovation is this project, program, or initiative?

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

What is your understanding of the issue that you are seeking to address?

According to the New York Times, Physical activity is linked to higher academic achievement, elevated self-esteem and reduced stress and anxiety. However, as public schools continue to cut back on physical education offerings, the joy of sport is increasingly becoming a privilege of the rich. Ready, Set, Gold! Continues to try to bridge that gap and bring physical activity, healthy lifestyles and social emotional lessons to low-income communities in Southern California.

Describe the project, program, or initiative this grant will support to address the issue.

Ready, Set, Gold! (RSG!) collaborates with Olympians and Paralympians to ignite inspiration among youth through sports, while championing the Olympic values of dedication, healthy living, and a growth mindset. Our approach includes: - Linking Olympians and Paralympians with students to instill enduring healthy habits. - Demonstrating core fitness components to foster active and health-conscious lifestyles.

Describe how Los Angeles County will be different if your work is successful.

Participating in physical activity offers a range of advantages, such as better academic performance, boosted self-esteem, and decreased stress and anxiety levels. Nonetheless, the diminishing presence of physical education programs in public schools has transformed the joy of sports into a privilege predominantly available to wealthier individuals. The more schools Ready, Set, Gold! can serve in Los Angeles County, especially in schools where physical education is not guaranteed or not offered, the greater our impact in the area.

What evidence do you have that this project, program, or initiative is or will be successful, and how will you define and measure success?

RSG!'s program impact is measured by the number of students reached, a number corroborated by athlete mentors and educators within the schools we serve. We also send surveys to the educators within our served schools to measure aspects of our program, such as whether our athlete mentors are leaving a lasting impact on the students they serve through goal setting, growth mindset, self-efficacy, etc. We define success by the number of students reached and the number of participating teachers who say that RSG! improved their students' awareness of healthier habits, goal setting, and growth mindset.

Approximately how many people will be impacted by this project, program, or initiative?

Direct Impact: 5,000.0

Indirect Impact: 50,000.0