Since its inception over a decade ago, the Sports 4 Life initiative has funded 281 organizations across 41 states, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands, providing $3.2 million in grants to 95,000 girls participating in over 40 sports. The program supports community organizations that help girls in four foundational areas – leadership, confidence, self-esteem and perseverance – fostering girls’ physical and emotional health and academic success, and all community organizations who receive grant funding are equipped with WSF step-by-step discussion guides to help program leaders teach these skills successfully.  

“At the Women’s Sports Foundation, we believe every girl deserves the chance to play, lead and thrive because when they do, we all win,” said WSF CEO Danette Leighton. “For over 10 years, this powerful program has been developing the leaders of tomorrow, and that impact would not be possible without the support of our valued partner at ESPN. Together, through this initiative, we look forward to continuing to drive positive change in communities who have historically lacked sport access.”  

Launched in 2014, Sports 4 Life was built on the understanding that while sports participation offers lifelong benefits – from improved physical health and self-esteem to stronger academic performance and leadership development – far too many girls still lack equal access to play, putting them at risk of missing out on learning critical skills that will help them live healthier, more enriched lives. For example, according to WSF research, African-American girls are less likely to be current players and are the most likely to have never played sports compared to other groups. Further, girls of color also face limited access to physical activity and sports in public schools, particularly when compared to boys of color and their white peers.  

WSF’s “Play to Lead” research report revealed that 71 percent of women who played youth sports, and later held formal leadership roles, rose to positions such as Manager, Director, President or C-suite executive. These findings underscore that girls do not need to play in college or professionally to develop the grit, confidence and resilience needed to thrive as educators, doctors, lawyers, legislators, business owners or whatever profession they choose to pursue. Additional data from WSF’s “Communities at the Forefront” research report shows that after just one season in Sports 4 Life funded programs, girls reported improved physical, mental and social health – and were more likely to stay involved in sports, leadership and community activities. 

“At ESPN, and through our Take Back Sports initiative powered by Disney, we hope to get and keep girls playing sports,” said Vice President of ESPN Corporate Citizenship, Kevin Martinez. “Celebrating more than $3 million invested in girls through Sports 4 Life is about more than participation – it’s about fueling confidence, leadership, and resilience in the next generation. This year’s recipients are proof of the transformative power of sport, and together with the Women’s Sports Foundation, we’re proud to help level the playing field so that every girl has the chance to discover her potential.”  

This year’s grant recipients cover a gamut of traditional and non-traditional opportunities for girls, including archery, canoeing, flag football, ice hockey, skateboarding and more. And 27 of the 40 community organizations are new to Sports 4 Life funding – further expanding the reach of this powerful initiative.   

Learn more and meet our 2025 grant recipients here. 

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About the Women’s Sports Foundation
The Women’s Sports Foundation® (WSF®) exists to enable girls and women to reach their potential in sport and life. We are an ally, an advocate, and a catalyst for tomorrow’s leaders. Founded by Billie Jean King in 1974, we are one of the first organizations to recognize the powerful connection between sport access, equity, and society. For over 50 years, WSF has been changing the game through its research, advocacy, and community programming, investing over $115 million to help girls and women play, compete, and lead – in sports and beyond – without barriers. A leader and champion of the entire women’s sports ecosystem, WSF amplifies the vital societal and cultural impact that is made when girls and women play sports. When girls play, they lead, and we all win! To learn more about the Women’s Sports Foundation, please visit www.WomensSportsFoundation.org. 

About ESPN Corporate Citizenship
ESPN believes that, at its very best, sports uplift the human spirit. Its corporate citizenship programs use the power of sport to positively address society’s needs through strategic community investments, cause marketing programs, collaboration with sports organizations and employee volunteerism, while also utilizing its diverse media assets. For more information go to www.espn.com/citizenship. 

Media Contacts:
Kandice Miller
Women’s Sports Foundation
479.409.7779
KMiller@WomensSportsFoundation.org 

Garrett Cowan
ESPN
Garrett.cowan@espn.com 

The Women’s Sports Foundation Announces its 2025 Sports 4 Life Grant Recipients, Surpassing $3 Million to Empower Girls in Underserved Communities – Women’s Sports Foundation

As the world remembers Kobe Bryant the basketball great, ferocious competitor and global icon, there’s another side of Kobe characterized by his efforts to engage with children and inspire them to put the same passion he did into whatever they pursue in life.

Staff and former students of After-School All-Stars recall the impact Kobe made in more than a decade serving as National Ambassador for the organization, one of the country’s largest providers of free after-school services for students in under-resourced communities.

The legacy left by Kobe Bryant, who died on Sunday, January 26th, 2020, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others in a helicopter crash on the way to a youth basketball tournament at Mamba Sports Academy, is more than five NBA championships and two Olympic gold medals in a soon-to-be Hall of Fame basketball career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

After-School All-Stars representatives will never forget Kobe’s smile, generosity, and unique emotional availability, which enabled him to forge meaningful connections with students.

“Kobe was as much a superstar off the court as he was on it,” said Ben Paul, President and CEO of After-School All-Stars. “For over 12 years, he donated his time, wisdom and resources to the 90,000 All-Star students across the country. What I will remember most about Kobe’s involvement with us as a National Ambassador is how authentically he connected with students when he spent time with them.”

USING HIS SPOTLIGHT TO HELP KIDS
In 2007, Ben Paul met Kobe through a mutual friend and showed him the impact being made by After-School All-Stars, which offers tutoring, academic enrichment, athletic programs and mentoring at 468 elementary, middle and high schools across 60 U.S. cities during the critical hours of 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Kobe immediately committed to supporting the students and programs with the same passion he put into his craft.

In addition to school visits, he gave kids scholarships to summer basketball camps, got them tickets to Lakers games, took part in fundraisers, and even sent a group of kids from the Los Angeles chapter to China through a cultural exchange program to gain the international perspective that shaped him growing up.

“One wrong decision in middle school can really impact a life in a negative way, or one good decision can send it down the right path,” Paul said. “Every now and then we meet people who really, truly get it, and Kobe Bryant was one of them.”

Actor and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who founded After-School All-Stars in 1992, thanked Kobe for the example he set for athletes.

“Celebrities and athletes have the opportunity to perform on a huge stage and reach millions of people,” Schwarzenegger said. “That comes with a responsibility to recognize that we aren’t self-made. Whether we are actors or athletes, we got to where we are with a lot of help, and it’s our job to pass that on to the next generation.

“As one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Kobe’s spotlight was brighter than almost anyone’s, and he used it to help millions of kids. For 12 years he was an ambassador for After-School All-Stars, and he used his time and his resources to inspire our 90,000 kids and help build opportunities for them. It wasn’t a celebrity endorsement where he slapped his name on it and walked away. He was hands on, spending time with students and bringing them to his basketball camps and on and on. I couldn’t be more grateful to him for his work on behalf of our students.”

BEYOND LOS ANGELES
Kobe didn’t just visit after-school programs in his hometown of Los Angeles. Whenever he saw an opportunity for afternoon downtime on the road in a city served by After-School All-Stars, he set aside fatigue from the grueling NBA schedule to visit schools.

Paul remembers the time Kobe visited a school in Harlem. The moment he arrived, the school erupted with excitement, claps and cheers. As hundreds of kids filled the school gym, Kobe began connecting with them through basketball drills.

Word quickly spread that one of the world’s biggest stars was in town and, despite security doing what they could, 20 minutes after his arrival there were in excess of a thousand people crowding inside the gym.

Seeing the situation getting beyond his control, Paul suggested that Kobe wrap up the session early. But he kept going, setting up an imaginary scenario that it was Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the clock was winding down and it was up to the kids to steal the ball from him. As he was leaving, Kobe even yelled out for a group photo and a sea  of kids engulfed him.

“It really brought together everything about Kobe and the organization and why he was a good fit as an ambassador, because the kids loved him and he loved them,” Paul said. “Having worked with a lot of various athletes and celebrities, he stood out from anyone else I’ve ever met. He would light up around kids. Put most adults in a room full of 12-year-olds and it’s the most terrifying environment you could put them in, but that was where Kobe wanted to be. That was his element.”

IN HIS OWN WORDS
In his own words, Kobe described what After-School All-Stars meant to him in 2009:

“This program gives kids an opportunity to be able to expand their horizons and to be able to dream. I think it’s important for our youth to feel supported, to feel like there’s an environment where people care about them, people who will help them and guide them to doing the right thing and pursuing their dream.

“As you get older, you see how many people you can affect and how many lives you can touch and the difference you can make, and it really puts things into perspective. I used to hear it all the time when I was a kid – that you have to stay focused; education is the key – but as a kid it never really sinks in unless you’re put in an environment where all that comes to fruition. So it has to not only be said but it has to be lived, and in this program and this environment it’s lived on a daily basis. That’s why I think this program is so special.”

A DIFFERENT KIND OF CELEBRITY
Sean Prospect, executive director of the South Florida chapter of After-School All-Stars, was amazed when Kobe visited in 2008 and took the time to engage individually with each of the 120 students.

“We’ve had different celebrities come through, and usually they talk to the kids as a group, take a couple pictures and leave,” Prospect said. “To my pleasant surprise, when Kobe came he spent hours upon hours interacting with every single kid. He approached that camp the way he approached basketball and everything else. He always held himself to a higher standard.”

Years later, at a Miami Heat game, Prospect saw Kobe when he came to town and thanked him for what he did for the children. He recalls Kobe responding that it was his pleasure, as his passion was helping and guiding youth.

HIS IMPACT AROUND THE WORLD
In 2011, Kobe came to After-School All-Stars and proposed a cultural exchange in which Nike and the Kobe Bryant Family Foundation would bring 10 All-Stars to China for two weeks over the summer and ASAS would host 10 students from China.

Having spent some of his formative years in Italy, he wanted the students, many of whom had never before left the state of California, to gain the perspective he did from experiencing another culture and country. The program ran for four years.

Marlen Quintero Perez was a 16-year-old student at Huntington Park College-Ready Academy High when she took part in the 2011 China exchange program.

“To be received in China was a life-changing moment to move out of our spectrum of just being in LA and in our own community, and it was all thanks to Kobe,” Perez said. “He wanted to bridge communities together. I had only ever been to Mexico, with the same people from my community. To go to China and experience a different culture, different food, different people, sparked an interest in me to then continue getting an education.”

Over the course of the trip, the students attended a basketball game with Kobe and a press conference where they had the opportunity to ask him questions, get pictures and autographs. Perez remembers feeling nervous to ask for a photo with him signing her Kobe jersey, but he put her at ease by responding “Fo’ sho, fo’ sho.”

“From seeing him on TV, I thought he’s intense and probably not too talkative, but that day he was completely different,” she said. “It was a very personal experience.”

Now a PhD student at UCLA in the Graduate School of Education, Perez still has the Nike Zoom Kobe VI sneakers she received to wear to China, where she got them autographed. She framed the signed jersey and gave it to her older brother.

Recently, teaching her first class as a part-time lecturer at California State University, Northridge, she asked students to introduce themselves and provide a fun fact. She started, and her fun fact was that she met Kobe three times.

A LASTING IMPACT
In addition to the impact he made directly on children in After-School All-Stars, Kobe connected with the organization’s mission and used his platform to raise awareness for the importance of free, comprehensive after-school programs. In television appearances on Entertainment Tonight, ESPN and late-night talk shows, he spoke about the work of After-School All-Stars and emphasized the need for continued federal funding.

“There’s only so much a school day can do to help kids,” Paul said. “We have kids an extra three hours, and if a typical school day is six hours that’s 50% more time. After-school programs are a big part of the holistic education of students, and Kobe got that.”

Kobe’s work with After-School All-Stars foretold how he would go on to dedicate his time fully to producing inspiring stories for youth after retiring from the NBA, in his Oscar-winning short film Dear Basketball, books and other media.

“Losing Kobe and Gianna was heartbreaking,” Schwarzenegger said. “I can’t stop thinking of his family and all of his fans and the millions – even billions – of kids he inspired.” 

WATCH KOBE AS AN AMBASSADOR FOR AFTER-SCHOOL ALL-STARS

MAKE A DIFFERENCE TODAY

Donations big and small help make afterschool programming a reality for students across the nation.

By Timothy Parker Downtown Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES — Reshanda Gray is all in when it comes to serving her mentees in Southern California and all across America. She has a nonprofit called No Gray Areas. She’s a WNBA veteran guiding teenage girls with life lessons and basketball skills.

“To help the next girl who grew up in the same position I grew up in,” Gray said.

What You Need To Know

• – At the time she had never really played basketball
• – Kobe told her “in order to be the best, you have to envision yourself doing it”
• – Gray overcame family struggles and eventually made it to the WNBA with the LA Sparks
• – Reshanda Gray met Kobe Bryant through the After School All-Stars LA Program

She hopes to inspire the next generation the way the late great Kobe Bryant did with her. Gray met the Lakers legend through the After-School All-Stars LA program when she was 12-years-old. At the time, she wasn’t sure if she would ever be good at basketball until she talked with Kobe.

“(He said), ‘In order to be the best, you have to envision yourself doing it.’ As the years went on and I got older, I started to take basketball a little more serious,” Gray explained.

“I started to understand what he meant.”

She became a star through high school, onto college in California, then onto the WNBA, overcoming the challenges of being overlooked by universities simply because she went to a public school in South L.A.

Over a decade later, at the WNBA All-Star Game, Gray finally got the opportunity to show her appreciation to Kobe.

“Thank you for just showing us that even though you are on this level, you’re never too big to give back to the people,” she said.

“’I’m a walking representation of that. You motivated me.’ And I could just tell by the look on his face that he was just like ‘wow, it really paid off.’ Then I saw his daughter Gigi, and I said get up take a picture with us. I also told her, ‘you got a great dad.’”

Last year, her journey came full circle when she joined the Sparks and put on the purple and gold, just like Kobe. Now she’s trying to do what for these you- ng ladies what Kobe did for her

“If I can do it, you can do it too,” Gray added.

She’s passing on words of wisdom and mamba inspiration to a new generation.

Source: https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/sports/2021/01/26/south-la-native–wnba-vet-inspiring-next-generation-like-kobe-did-for-her