Boston, MA, June 18, 2020 – In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, Good Sports is launching the Restore Play initiative and working with key partners, including FOX Sports, to deliver important resources to the youth sports community. As the official media partner of Restore Play, FOX Sports is committed to utilizing its family of networks and digital platforms to support the initiative and address the impact the health crisis is having on the youth sports community.

The Restore Play initiative aims to provide at least $15 million in sports and fitness equipment for thousands of youth organizations and children across the country who have endured significant setbacks due to COVID-19.

“Many children rely on school for physical education and community programs for active play, social interaction, and character-building experiences. The absence of these services is not just inconvenient, it can be traumatic,” said Good Sports CEO Melissa Harper. “Eighty-four percent of our community partners anticipate a decreased budget for sports equipment once play comes back, so the impact of COVID-19 on children in need and their increasingly limited access to sports will be unprecedented.”

As the country emerges from this crisis, play must be revitalized for millions of children to bring back critical structure, positive social interactions and overall health and well-being. Donations of sporting goods from Good Sports and their industry partners are critical to helping community organizations, schools and recreational programs to alleviate economic challenges. As cities across America move through phases of reopening, equipment donations will support a range of community needs, including at-home play packs, social distance play solutions and full sports programming gear. For the past 17 years, Good Sports has been supporting vulnerable youth across the country, with 80% of their service population being children of color in high poverty communities.

“We are proud to team up with Good Sports and their mission to help safely bring the joy and lifelong benefit of sports back to kids nationwide,” said FOX Sports CEO and Executive Producer, Eric Shanks. “It’s important to us that community programs receive the much needed support so that children in need aren’t sidelined by a lack of access to equipment for play.”

“We are so grateful to FOX Sports for helping us bring play back for children in need,” added Harper. “This partnership will significantly amplify the message of Restore Play and we think it will resonate with their audience who understands the importance of youth sports.”

On the heels of this COVID-19 crisis, Restore Play partners will be critical for Good Sports to provide the equipment, footwear, and apparel necessary to restore youth sports programs and give children in need access to play as quickly as possible. To help create equity in youth sports through Restore Play, visit https://www.goodsports.org/restoreplay/

The Restore Play PSA can be found here:  Link

ABOUT GOOD SPORTS: Good Sports gives all kids the lifelong benefits of sport and physical activity by providing equipment, apparel and footwear to those most in need. Since 2003, Good Sports’ all-time impact is more than $57 million in donated sports equipment, impacting over 7 million kids from more than 4,200 youth programs across the country. Good Sports has been awarded a coveted 4-star rating seven consecutive times from Charity Navigator, the nation’s largest charity evaluator, for sound fiscal management, transparency and accountability; and is a Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance accredited charity. To learn more or to get involved, please visit www.goodsports.org.

ABOUT FOX SPORTS: FOX Sports is the umbrella entity representing FOX Corporation’s wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets. Built with brands capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, the business has ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing relationships. FOX Sports includes the sports television arm of the FOX Network; FS1, FS2, FOX Soccer Plus and FOX Deportes. FOX Sports’ digital properties include FOXSports.com and the FOX Sports App, which provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content, instant scores, stats and alerts to iOS and Android devices. Additionally, FOX Sports and social broadcasting platform Caffeine jointly own Caffeine Studios which creates exclusive eSports, sports and live entertainment content. Also included in FOX Sports’ portfolio are FOX’s interests in joint-venture business Big Ten Network, a licensing and commercial relationship with The Stars Group that created the FOX Bet sports betting platform and the FOX Bet Super 6 free-to-play game, as well as a licensing agreement that established the FOX Sports Radio Network.

 

 

# # # #

GOOD SPORTS CONTACT:
Christy Keswick, Co-Founder and COO
ckeswick@goodsports.org
617.921.3558

FOX SPORTS CONTACT:
Brian Strong – SVP, Brand Communications
Brian.Strong@fox.com

Mark Toyama – Manager, Community Partnerships
Mark.Toyama@fox.com

 

# # #