2015 ANNUAL REPORT OUR MISSION GIRLS IN THE GAME PROVIDES AND PROMOTES SPORTS AND FITNESS OPPORTUNITIES, NUTRITION AND HEALTH EDUCATION, AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT TO ENHANCE THE OVERALL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF GIRLS. Site Locations Jahn World Language School Langford Community Academy LEARN Romano Butler Campus LEARN South Chicago Legacy Charter Elementary School McGuane Park Teen Squad Leader to Leader Interviews Leman Middle School Nathanael Greene Elementary School Accelerated Rehabilitation Centers Major Adams Community Center Oakland Elementary School Chicago Sports Commission McGuane Park Perkins Bass Elementary School Chicago Tribune Michael Faraday Elementary School Perspectives Charter School - Rodney Emerald City Theater Company Newport Elementary D. Joslin Campus Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Pioneer Elementary Pilsen Elementary Community Academy Fossil, Inc. Randolph Elementary Prescott Magnet Cluster School JLL Richard J Oglesby Elementary Richard Edwards Elementary Johnson Controls Inc. Simons Park Sharon Christa McAuliffe Elementary Niketown-Chicago Union Park School Peterson Garden Project Uno Charter School Sherwood Park Recovery on Water Volta Elementary St. Barbara School Ruth Page Center for the Arts West Park Elementary Academy Tuley Park Sage Community Health Visitation Catholic School The Metropolitan Club After School Washington Elementary School United Airlines Adlai E. Stevenson II Elementary Willa Cather Elementary United Healthcare of Illinois School YWCA Hershey Road Alfred Nobel Elementary School Game Day Benjamin E. Mays Elementary Academy Teen Workshop Sites Amundsen Park Carver Park Alfred Nobel Elementary School Apollo Elementary School Charles Evans Hughes School Charles R Henderson Elementary Arthur A. Libby Elementary & Chase Park School Middle School CICS Longwood Douglas Park Bernhard Moos Elementary School Cornell Square Park Futureworld Learning Center Bouchet Math & Science Academy Crown Community Academy of Fine Gads Hill Center Carrie Jacobs Bond Elementary School Arts Center ES Horizon Science Academy Belmont Chase Park Daniel Boone Elementary School Charter School Chopin Elementary School Daniel R. Cameron Elementary School Instituto Del Progreso Latino Cornell Square Park Eugene Park Kershaw School Dvorak School of Excellence Ferdinand Peck Elementary School McGuane Park Ellen Mitchell Elementary School Herzl School of Excellence New Life Community Church Enders Salk Elementary Horatio G. Bent Elementary School Perspectives Charter School - Rodney Eugene Park Jahn World Language School D. Joslin Campus Francis W. Parker Community Academy Jamieson Elementary School West Communities YMCA Girl Scout Friendship Center Jane A. Neil Elementary School Goudy Technology Magnet Cluster John B. Murphy Elementary School Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary John J. Pershing Magnet School for the School Humanities SITE MAP OUR LOCATIONS Leader to Leader Locations After School Program Sites Albany Park McKinley Park Archer Heights Near South Side Bloomington New City Bridgeport North Center Chattam North Lawndale Douglas Palmer Square East Garfield Park Peterson Park East Side Riverdale Englewood Scottsdale Humboldt Park South Chicago Irving Park Washington Heights Lake Villa West Chesterfield Lathrop Homes West Eldson Logan Square West Ridge Lower West Side Game Day Locations Albany Park New City Auburn Gresham North Center Austin North Lawndale CHI Bridgeport Palmer Square Brighton Park Schaumburg Country Club Hills South Chicago Des Plaines South Shore East Garfield Park Uptown Englewood Wadsworth Humboldt Park West Chicago Logan Square West Englewood Near West Side West Town Teen Workshop Sites Austin Lower West Side Bridgeport Near South Side Englewood North Lawndale Humboldt Park West Englewood Hyde Park GIRLS IN THE GAME 2015 Annual Report THE YEAR IN REVIEW WORD FROM THE BOARD CHAIR For me, 1995 doesn’t seem that long ago. The Atlantis docked with the Russian MIR Space Station, Americans were grieving over the Oklahoma City bombing destruction, and the Citadel voted to admit women to the Cadet Corps. While the eyes of the world took in these big events, a small movement was taking place in Chicago. A group of women decided to provide more access for girls to play sports, realizing their involvement in sports as kids taught them the lessons they now found invaluable in their lives. Thanks to their insight and dedication, A Sporting Chance Foundation was born, serving 100 Chicago girls that first year through a summer camp and some one-day events. The girls involved quickly realized they had a voice and started asking for more. They loved learning new sports but also wanted to learn more about how to stay healthy by eating right and how to grow as leaders. Staff listened and expanded their curriculum to what are still the core components of Girls in the Game programming, sports, health, leadership and life. In 2003, A Sporting Chance Foundation officially became Girls in the Game. As we celebrated our 20th anniversary in 2015, I feel a great sense of pride looking at where we started to where we are now. We started with 100 girls; now we serve more than 3,500 a year. What started as a camp, now includes weekly After School programs at over 40 sites around the city, 35 Game Day events each school year, a Spring Break Clinic and year-round Teen Programs that give girls the chance to become leaders while earning money for college. And that summer camp that started in 1995? It still runs every summer at Union Park, filled to capacity with 120 girls and many more on the waiting list. This year, Girls in the Game also took its first steps outside of Chicago with After School programs at five elementary schools in Baltimore, MD. Girls everywhere need Girls in the Game. As we look to the next 20 years, our goal is to find a way to grow in other cities while continuing to deepen our impact in Chicago, which will always be our home. While these successes sound like cause for celebration, the reality is quite opposite. Girls still don’t have the same opportunities as boys, and not just when it comes to sports. Girls want to play without feeling self-conscious; they want to feel free to use their voice and feel that their opinions matter; and they want to grow up knowing that they have a chance to impact change and make the world a better place. Girls still need Girls in the Game. Girls still need each other. Girls need people like those highlighted in this report. It’s not just the staff and coaches at Girls in the Game that make this possible. Without sponsors, board members, volunteers, partners and parents, Girls in the Game wouldn’t work. On behalf of Girls in the Game, I want to take a moment to say “Thank You” for your involvement in the past, present or future. For every one of you who has stood up and said “I am in the Game,” there is a girl whose future is filled with more opportunities, whose voice is filled with more strength, and thousands of girls whose days are filled with more laughter and friends. It is an honor to serve all of you as we continue to work towards this very important mission. Janette Outlaw, Girls in the Game Board Chair GIRLS IN THE GAME 2015 Annual Report 90 MINUTE GAME CHANGER AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS Most girls first get in the game through our After School program, our main avenue of engaging with local elementary and middle schools and park sites to reach girls in grades 3-8. At least once a week at sites in Chicago, Bloomington and Baltimore, Girls in the Game coaches run a jam-packed 90 minute program that incorporates sports, health and leadership into a fun, non-competitive environment. Girls have the opportunity to learn unique sports like lacrosse or rugby, brush up on classics such as soccer and hear from their coaches about life, leadership and health. Our program is highly interactive, pushing girls to think about topics such as nutrition, bullying, peer pressure and positive relationships as their coaches facilitate healthy discussion. Our After School program also allows coaches to become role models over the course of the season while they encourage participants to learn and grow. We see our girls come out of the After School program with a healthier self-image and an increased enthusiasm for their school PE classes, as well as a decreased support for aggression. Not only that, but research has also shown that participation in sports leads to overall better performance in school. This program works to build a strong foundation for an overall healthier life as girls move on to Teen Squad and beyond. Program Type Girls Served Sites 1,227 Elementary Program 585 25 GIRLS SERVED Middle School Program 111 5 BY AFTER SCHOOL Super Saturdays 34 1 PROGRAMS AT 49 University Models 497 18 LOCATIONS It has been so rewarding to watch the special Murphy School 3rd-5th “ grade girls learn new skills and develop more confidence in themselves as individuals and team members. It’s evident that Girls in the Game programs are helping them find their voices and make smart choices in their lives. “ Jo Ann Seager, Volunteer Coach at Murphy GIRLS IN THE GAME 2015 Annual Report A MIXING OF NEW & TRADITIONAL SPORT GAME DAYS/CLINICS Girls in the Game reaches out to new potential community partners and schools through Game Days. During these three-hour outreach sessions, coaches and volunteers give girls a taste of our regular programming by teaching a traditional sport, a non-traditional sport and a health or leadership topic. Volunteers and coaches motivate girls to be more confident in their athletic abilities, which is essential for girls who may not previously have had access to a positive sports experience in the context of a safe, all-girl environment. Game Days also give schools and parks an inside look at all that our regular programs have to offer; many schools request our regular programming after seeing the excitement generated by Game Days among their students.