Through the Healthy People 2030 program, the federal government has set for the first time a national target for youth sports participation: 63% by the year 2030.

To help reach the target, Project Play is convening funders from local State of Play communities to measurably grow sport participation rates among youth.

 

Aspen to Parachute

Baltimore

Camden

Central Ohio

Hawai'i

Kansas City

Greater Rochester

Seattle-King County

Southeast Michigan

Tacoma-Pierce County

Western New York

Oakland

Western Maine

Baton Rouge

Washington, D.C

Harlem

Mobile County

Aspen to Parachute Baltimore Camden Central Ohio Hawai'i Kansas City Greater Rochester Seattle-King County Southeast Michigan Tacoma-Pierce County Western New York Oakland Western Maine Baton Rouge Washington, D.C Harlem Mobile County

The Project Play Communities Council is in its first year of a three-year pilot program for current and former State of Play communities. The council is an open-source learning community for leading funding organizations in State of Play communities to:

  1. Address common challenges and share knowledge about what’s working locally

  2. Use their individual and collective voice to inform and influence the 63X30 national effort to increase youth sports participation.

63X30 is our national rallying cry to reach at least 63% of youth involved in organized sport by 2030. Project Play will also elevate ideas and insights from the Communities Council to the 63X30 national table and to the wider network.

Thank you to our generous underwriters for supporting this program

Our State of Play Communities

 
 

Aspen to parachute, colorado

State of Play Colorado: Aspen to Parachute was released June 11, 2024, as the Aspen Institute’s 13th community report. The report, in partnership with the Hurst Community Initiative, analyzes youth sports, outdoor recreation and other forms of physical activity within an 80-mile corridor from Aspen to Parachute, Colorado.

 

Baltimore, Maryland

Project Play Baltimore facilitated opportunities for leaders to grow the quality and quantity of youth sport opportunities in a two-square mile-area of East Baltimore.

  • Under Armour’s Project Rampart initiative has overseen the physical renovation of Baltimore City school gyms and outfitted every varsity athlete with uniforms. Project Rampart has connected athletes and their coaches to tools and experiences that promote skill and personal development.

  • Then-Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott (and future mayor) introduced a budget to open all city recreation centers on the weekend for the first time in decades. As mayor, Scott’s “Rec Rollout” campaign committed $41 million of American Rescue Plan Act funding to recreation, with rollouts of renovated rec centers and playgrounds.

  • Leveling the Playing Field opened a warehouse in Baltimore to provide donated equipment to sports providers. Since then, $4.8 million of sports equipment has been distributed to the greater Baltimore community. About $823,000 worth of equipment has gone into East Baltimore, the focus area of the 2017 State of Play Baltimore report.

 

Camden, New Jersey

The report, in partnership with the Sixers Youth Foundation, offered a snapshot of well adults in the city of Camden, New Jersey are serving youth through sports, recreation and other physical activities.

 

Central ohio

The report was released in partnership with the Columbus Foundation, Lindy Infante Foundation and Columbus Youth Foundation.

  • Members of the State of Play Central Ohio task force launched the Central Ohio Youth Sports Collaborative to ensure continued coordination among key providers, including greater collaboration between schools, parks and recreation departments and community providers.  

  • The Columbus Youth Foundation made significant investments in youth sport providers aligned with the findings in the report. Investments included the Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, Chica Sports and Fitness Camp and Niños en Acción summer youth soccer programs.

  • Ohio State University’s LiFEsports conducted a regional coaches survey to learn more about the background, experiences, and coaching philosophies of the adults coaching youth sports. This effort helped result in the National Coaches Survey, which surveyed more than 10,000 coaches.

 

HARLEM, NEW YORK

Project Play Harlem was a multiyear initiative focused on five-square-mile area of New York City. With the support of Harris Philanthropies, the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund and Mount Sinai Health System, the Aspen Institute assessed the state of play in the largely Latino community and helped to mobilize civic, youth and sport groups.

  • Inspired Madison Square Garden to conceptualize a hockey program in East Harlem that introduces students to floor and street hockey through schools. MSG acted in 2019 after reading the State of Play Harlem report, in which hockey was identified as one of the top five sports that kids want to try. NHL and Madison Square Garden worked with the Department of Education and Columbia University to design, pilot and evaluate a hockey PE curriculum for East Harlem schools in 2019.

  • Garnered support from Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), who called for collective investment to grow the quality and quantity of youth sports in East Harlem to improve community health outcomes.

 

HawAi’I

The report landscaped youth sports in the entire state, in partnership with the Lili‘uokalani Trust, a private operating foundation for the benefit of orphan and destitute children with preference given to Native Hawaiian children, or Kamali‘i.

  • The Lili‘uokalani Trust, which aims to serve Native Hawai‘ian youth, committed to building the next iteration of the leadership task force to address gaps and recommendations identified in the report.

  • In 2025, the Lili‘uokalani Center will open as a world-class healing space in urban Honolulu, providing spaces for sports, arts, entrepreneurship and technology.

 

Kansas City

State of Play Kansas City was released Sept. 17, 2024, as the Aspen Institute’s 14th community report. In partnership with Children’s Mercy Kansas City, the report analyzes the state of youth sports, play and outdoor recreation in the Kansas City region and offers recommendations to grow more opportunities for children to move their bodies.

 

Oakland, california

The report analyzed youth sports in Oakland, California, in partnership with Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation.

  • Eat. Learn. Play. announced in 2023 it will raise and invest $50 million to support Oakland students by 2026. The movement includes transforming 25 schoolyards and helping to revitalize school sports programs.

  • Project Play is working with Positive Coaching Alliance’s Sport Equity and Access Coalition to create a directory of youth sport providers and build their capacity to partner with Oakland Unified Schools and increase sports opportunities for elementary and middle school youth.

  • Watch a message from NBA star Stephen Curry on State of Play Oakland and future activations.

 

greater rochester & the Finger lakes

The report, in partnership with the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, supports the Rochester Area Foundation in New York as it activates in Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne and Yates counties.

  • The Rochester Area Foundation has distributed $650,000+ in grants from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy Fund for Youth Sports, and supported the implementation of Built to Play grants, including the Play Everywhere “Corridor of Play” and the Roc City Skatepark, as featured in the State of Play Greater Rochester & the Finger Lakes report.

  • As part of its Project Play Champion commitment, the City of Rochester Department of Recreation and Youth Services (DRYS) pledged to integrate the How to Coach Kids course into all annual coach training for the 15 community centers in the city.

 

Seattle-king county

The project was in partnership with the University of Washington and King County Parks, along with the YMCA of Greater Seattle, Seattle Mariners, Kaiser Permanente, the Bezos Family Foundation, evo, and Seattle Children’s Hospital in an effort to prioritize equal access to youth sports.

  • The University of Washington formed the King County Play Equity Coalition to support and improve equitable access to safe, fun physical activity for all King County youth. Every Seattle pro sports team joined and financially supported the group, including the Mariners, Seahawks, Sounders, Storm and Kraken.

  • King County Play Equity Coalition successfully advocated for passage of one of the strongest recess laws in the country.

  • Seattle Children’s Hospital received a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through its Youth Engagement in Sports program.

 

Southeast michigan

The foundations created Project Play: Southeast Michigan, a multi-year initiative to drive progress in the areas of opportunity identified by the region’s stakeholders.

  • Guided the grantmaking of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, which has approved over $250 million in grants for youth sports and recreation, parks and trail systems.

  • Detroit City FC adopted a $1 fee on tickets to support local youth soccer. Funds go to the club’s nonprofit arm, Detroit Sporting Coalition, which runs Detroit City FC City Youth. Our State of Play Southeast Michigan report recommended Detroit's pro sports teams dedicate 1% of their annual revenues to support youth and school sports programs.

  • One of the foundation’s standout initiatives is Built to Play, which has invested more than $16 million to support the creation of 20+ skateparks and 70 unique play spaces and playground builds across the foundation’s two regions.

  • SportPort, a partnership with regional YMCAs and community programs, created 15 free equipment libraries to foster sport sampling and free play.

 

Tacoma-pierce county

The report was released in 2023 in partnership with the Names Family Foundation to assess the state of youth sports and physical activity in Pierce County, Washington.

  • The Names Family Foundation increased grantmaking for Tacoma-area youth based on report findings and relationships built during the State of Play process.

  • Pierce County Parks and Recreation’s current development strategy includes a new $16 to $20 million sports complex in partnership with Bethel Schools to open between 2027 and 2029. To determine what will be built with Bethel, a joint concept planning and cost estimating study will occur in 2025. Our report identified the need to invest in new public sports facilities in Bethel.

  • In fall 2024, Pierce County Parks and Recreation will launch the South Pierce Active Kids Coalition with Bethel Schools to support and expand active engagement resources (parks, outdoor adventure, sports) to the South Pierce County/Bethel area.

 

Western New York

Project Play Western New York is a nonprofit initiative launched by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation through the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo and with the support of Aspen

  • Guided the grantmaking of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, which has approved over $250 million in grants for youth sports and recreation, parks and trail systems.

  • Support has been provided to partners to develop satellite programming, including She Can Coach events, the Project Play Western New York Summer Track Series, and SportPort (an equipment library to foster sport sampling and free play).

  • Project Play Western New York mobilized youth sports providers to support legislation to allocate a share of mobile sports betting revenue to youth sports nonprofits.

  • In 2024, four Buffalo elementary schools planned to add new or expanded playgrounds.