All Kids Play

In anticipation of the Olympics capturing the attention of the sports world later this month in Paris, All Kids Play is excited to announce our partnership with USRowing in support of USRowing’s United We Row initiative aimed at advancing the sport of rowing and the rowing community through diversity, equity and inclusion. You can learn more about the USRowing - All Kids Play partnership and USRowing’s United We Row initiative at the links in our bio.

As the Copa America and Euros tournaments heat up and entertain soccer fans around the world, we want to take a moment to thank our friends at Adler University’s Sport & Human Performance Department for their role in supporting All Kids Play’s Refugee Soccer Program with mental skills training. Through simple and effective mental skills exercises conducted by the Adler staff prior to our soccer training sessions and implemented by the kids throughout the training sessions, Adler is helping All Kids Play develop more focused and determined student-athletes as we continue working to transform lives through youth sports.

Congratulations to All-American Ayden Ames for being named the Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year! Thank you Ayden for donating your Gatorade Player of the Year Community Grant to All Kids Play as we help the next generation of athletes reap the benefits of sport!

Read more about Ayden’s incredible accomplishments as well as the prestigious Gatorade Player of the Year Award and Gatorade Player of the Year Community Grant at the links in our bio.

All Kids Play is proud of the work we are doing with USA Fencing on the Fencing the Gap Initiative as we support access to the sport across diverse communities.

Read more at the link in our bio.

All Kids Play had the honor and privilege of participating in GEM Realty Capital’s GEMC3 Community Showcase this month to share information about the mission and work of All Kids Play. We are extremely grateful to GEM for this opportunity and for their generous contribution to All Kids Play as we continue working to transform lives through youth sports.

Thanks to the generosity of our friends at Academy Sports + Outdoors, All Kids Play was able to help arrange holiday shopping givebacks at stores this week for student-athletes to select free sports gear and equipment to brighten their holidays and get their sports seasons started right in 2024!

All Kids Play is proud to share that our partnership with USA Fencing on the Fencing the Gap Initiative aimed at increasing representation of BIPOC, women, and people with disabilities in fencing has been honored with the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s 2023 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Choice Award, a prestigious recognition celebrating outstanding efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion. The Initiative offers scholarships, mini-grants and incentivized programs to remove some of the financial barriers associated with competing in nationally sanctioned fencing tournaments.

All Kids Play is pleased to share that we are a 2023 Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation Sports Matter Grant Award Recipient. Thank you to the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation for supporting our efforts to transform lives through youth sports.

All Kids Play is pleased to share that we are a 2023-2024 Gatorade Equity in Sports Community Grant Award Recipient! Thanks to for the trust and confidence they have placed in All Kids Play as we continue working to transform lives through youth sports.

A huge thank you to for hydrating our athletes in the All Kids Play Refugee Soccer Program. Gatorade and All Kids Play are working together to fuel the next generation of student-athletes in sports and in life!! All Kids Play is proud to be a part of Gatorade’s Equity in Sports Initiative.

The All Kids Play Refugee Soccer Program is growing!! Awesome to see kids from Ukraine getting the chance to play soccer for free in Chicago. Many of these kids will also be playing club soccer for free with through the All Kids Play youth sports grant program.

Thanks to
for the work they do with these students in the classroom on a daily basis. A big thanks also goes out to and our generous donors including and for supporting the All Kids Play Refugee Soccer Program. Putting smiles on the faces of kids from Ukraine through sports is very gratifying!!!

USA Fencing and All Kids Play are making great progress on the Fencing the Gap initiative with grant awards to youth fencing programs across the U.S. to support increased access to the sport of fencing for underserved student-athletes currently underrepresented in the sport. Here is more information on the Fencing the Gap initiative -https://www.usafencing.org/news_article/show/1251479

All Kids Play is happy to be supporting America SCORES Seattle in providing constructive after-school programs to the kids of Seattle.

The All Kids Play team and our community partners had a great time attending the Season Kickoff Luncheon benefiting the Chicago Fire Foundation. All Kids Play is proud to be part of a vibrant non-profit community working to transform lives through youth soccer in Chicago.

All Kids Play is very excited to announce that our organization received a grant from The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation as part of its Sports Matter Program. This grant will be used to grow the All Kids Play Refugee Soccer Program. An admired leader in providing access to youth sports, The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation believes that sports make people better. All Kids Play completely agrees and we are extremely grateful to The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation for their support.

All Kids Play is pleased to announce that we have expanded our partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Northwest Indiana to include providing access to the sport of pickleball to thousands of kids in need across Northwest Indiana. Getting kids physically active and keeping their minds sharp through a healthy lifestyle will help ensure better life outcomes for our future leaders.

During this Giving Season, please consider supporting the All Kids Play mission to transform the lives of kids from low-income families through youth sports with a donation at the All Kids Play website - https://allkidsplay.org/donate/

All Kids Play is extremely proud to announce our partnership with USA Fencing on the Fencing the Gap initiative to help ensure increased access to the sport of fencing - https://www.usafencing.org/news_article/show/1251479

During this Giving Season, please consider supporting the All Kids Play mission to transform the lives of kids from low-income families through youth sports with a donation at the All Kids Play website -https://allkidsplay.org/donate/

As the World Cup heats up, All Kids Play is very proud to share that we continue to assist additional student-athletes from Ukraine that want to play soccer in the U.S. Mykhailo arrived in Chicago recently after being forced to leave Ukraine due to the hostilities of the war. Mykhailo is a talented goalkeeper and a great student. All Kids Play was able to help keep Mykhailo playing the beautiful game through our youth sports grant program.

During this Giving Season, please consider supporting All Kids Play’s mission to transform the lives of kids through youth sports with a donation at the All Kids Play website -https://allkidsplay.org/donate/

All Kids Play is very excited to announce that our organization has been selected by as a 2022 Gatorade Fuel Tomorrow Community Grant Award Recipient based on All Kids Play’s commitment to providing access to sports to underserved student-athletes who are underrepresented or disenfranchised by barriers that limit play while also driving positive change and impact within communities. An iconic sports brand fueling athletes across the globe, Gatorade is a perfect supporter of the All Kids Play youth sports mission and we are extremely grateful to Gatorade.

Please consider joining Gatorade in making a donation to All Kids Play: https://allkidsplay.org/donate/

All Kids Play is very pleased to share that we recently awarded a youth sports grant to our first Ukrainian student-athlete. Forced to leave Ukraine due to the war, Zakhar arrived in Chicago in August. He is an excellent student and is accustomed to balancing academics with athletics. Zakhar is a talented goalkeeper and is a very disciplined, diligent, patient and responsible individual. All Kids Play is thrilled to award Zakhar a youth sports grant through our Refugee Soccer Program to enable Zakhar to pursue his dream of becoming a professional footballer.

All Kids Play is pleased to be working with to support their youth basketball and soccer leagues. All Kids Play looks forward to an ongoing and growing partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana for the benefit of student-athletes throughout the Greater Northwest Indiana area.

All Kids Play would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Birdies for Branks, all of the golf outing supporters and of course the Brankin family for supporting the First Annual Birdies for Branks Memorial Golf Outing. The success of the event and the donation to All Kids Play will enable our organization to honor the memory of Tom Brankin by supporting underprivileged kids through youth sports. Tom believed in the power of youth sports to transform lives and All Kids Play is committed to continuing to fulfill the All Kids Play mission in support of Tom’s passion.

The WNBA playoffs have All Kids Play reflecting on all of our youth basketball grants over the last few years. All Kids Play is proud to support student-athletes as they pursue their academic and athletic dreams.

After a successful inaugural season in 2021, All Kids Play was pleased to once again support the second season of the Newfield Park Little League program in East Bridgeport, Connecticut. The kids had a fun and productive summer in a high-quality little league program with great coach and parent engagement.

We concluded the community soccer summer training sessions of our Refugee Soccer Program this week. Thanks again to our friends , and for their ongoing support in making this program a success and thanks to our sponsor for the great All Kids Play shirts for the participants!

Thanks to for providing All Kids Play with tickets to the Fire game at Soldier Field last Saturday for participants in All Kids Play’s Refugee Soccer Program. A great time was had by all watching the Fire make a playoff push! Go Fire! 🔥

Thank you notes like these from our youth sports grantee organizations energize our All Kids Play team to continue doing the work we do and they confirm for our donors the significant real life impact that donations to All Kids Play have in low-income communities.

It was another beautiful morning in Chicago yesterday for soccer. The summer training sessions of the All Kids Play Refugee Soccer Program are going very well. The kids are having fun, getting some exercise and working on soccer skills as well as life skills such as communication and teamwork in the scrimmages. Lots of laughs and smiling faces. For those kids in our Refugee Soccer Program looking for more soccer beyond this community soccer program, All Kids Play is providing them with grants to play club soccer where they can continue building soccer and life skills.

The All Kids Play Refugee Soccer Program continues to be a major focus of All Kids Play's youth sports grant programs. The summer training sessions are going great! Not only are the kids learning soccer skills, but they are also learning a variety of mental and emotional skills that will benefit them in the classroom, on the soccer pitch and in life thanks to the involvement of Adler University's Sport and Human Performance Department.

We are very excited to share that All Kids Play student athletes Zephaniah, Zechariah, and El'Lanah qualified for the Junior Olympics in North Carolina! Always great to see our youth sports grantees having fun and accomplishing great things.