A Note from Leadership
Throughout another most unusual year, keeping poet-athletes safe, supported, and connected remained our north star. This Annual Report provides a glimpse into the lengths our coaches and affiliate staff went to meet poet-athletes wherever they were – physically and emotionally – throughout these continually changing times. It also shares a few of the many ways we uplifted and celebrated poet-athletes in FY21, including at a live, virtual International Youth Poetry Slam, which you can view in full here.
Even though, thanks to COVID19, FY21 didn’t look like a typical SCORES year, we did everything in our power to make it feel like one for more than 10,000 young poet-athletes. From delivering thousands of free player kits to hosting live, virtual poetry workshops to resuming in-person practices with strict COVID safety protocols, America SCORES coaches and staff continued to create safe and brave spaces where our poet-athletes could not only process the ongoing traumas of the COVID19 pandemic and systemic racial injustice, but also set the woes of the world aside and simply be kids.
As we look ahead, we share Seattle 5th grade poet-athlete Sebastian’s wish – for him, for all of our poet-athletes, and for you:
Corwin Thomas, Board Chair & Bethany Rubin Henderson, Network President
The SCORES Program
America SCORES inspires urban youth to lead healthy lives, be engaged students, and have the confidence and character to make a difference in the world.
An international youth development nonprofit, America SCORES provides free after-school programs and summer camps that build teams through a unique combination of soccer, poetry, and service-learning.
We have years of data proving that poet-athletes have greater class participation and, in turn, achieve higher academic performance than their non-SCORES peers. As we continue to navigate through these tumultuous times, America SCORES is committed to supporting families, kids, and communities in the return to in-person instruction, and continuing to be a leader in developing brave spaces where poet-athletes can be their whole selves.
