Young Quaker Community Athletics Initiative in Three West Philadelphia Schools |
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February 3, 2015, Volume 61, No. 21 |
Penn has launched the Young Quakers Community Athletics (YQCA) program—an after-school initiative that is a partnership between the University of Pennsylvania’s Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships and the Division of Recreation & Intercollegiate Athletics (DRIA)—offering programming in three West Philadelphia K-8 schools: Comegys, Huey and Lea. The program provides mentoring, pairing about 100 Penn intercollegiate and varsity players with 110 school-aged athletes and offering additional resources including staff, coaches, uniforms, sports equipment, bus transportation and access to the University’s playing fields at no cost. This is a new component of Penn’s University-Assisted Community Schools program.
A pilot for the YQCA program began in 2012, involving boys’ lacrosse at Comegys. Building on its success, YQCA has grown to include girls’ lacrosse at Comegys and co-ed track and field at Huey and Lea with plans to expand the program to include other sports and other K-8 schools in the West Philadelphia and Sayre High School catchment areas.
Chuck Leitner, chair of the Board of Overseers for DRIA and a founding donor to Young Quakers, described the partnership as now being at the first day of ‘Young Quakers 2.0’ after having done research to make sure this marriage of sports and ABCS (academically based community service) courses really works.
Penn President Amy Gutmann said the University is creating a national model with the YQCA program which exemplifies Penn’s commitment to local engagement.
Karin Brower Corbett, the Penn womens’ lacrosse coach, said that this program helps the Penn student athletes “put things in perspective.”
Gabby Cuccia, a Penn junior, track & field athlete and YQCA mentor who has been involved in YQCA for about a year, said the program has fostered responsibility and changed her life. |