Sports Day 2008

On Saturday, August 30, 2008, Athletes for Charity hosted their 3rd annual "Back to School / Sports Day" event at the Sports Museum of America (www.sportsmusueum.com) in New York City. For the third year in a row, Athletes for Charity teamed up with Lutheran Social Services to benefit youth from their foster care program. Athletes for Charity also joined forces with My Sistahz Keeper Association to benefit underprivileged youth from New Jersey.

The event featured various local professional athletes who spent their time with over 100 foster care youths ranging from ages 6-18. The athletes aided with the distribution of back to school supplies enabling all who attended the event to receive premium back to school items such as back packs filled with notebooks, loose leaf packs, dictionaries, pens and pencils, highlighters, crayons or markers, rulers, etc. High School aged youth additionally received calculators courtesy of NY Jets Coach Eric Mangini. Students also received Athletes for Charity and World Boxing Cares t-shirts as well as prizes such as CD's donated by Sony BMG, Nike sneakers, and autographed sports memorabilia donated by various sports teams.

Several members of the New York Nemesis, one of New York City's two all-female professional football teams attended and were joined by a number of professional boxers from the World Boxing Council's World Boxing Cares. Each of the athletes in attendance offered inspirational stories about their personal struggles and triumphs in their careers and offered the kids advice and encouragement to achieve the same both athletically and academically.

After lunch and a short reception in the main hall of the Sports Museum, the kids were treated to a free tour of the Museum and also participated in a trivia scavenger hunt throughout the entire museum for which they received prizes at the end for correct answers. Many companies, organizations and individuals generously sponsored and/or donated product to this event including: Bank of America, Enyce Clothing Co., Epsilon Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., FritoLay, the Hooker Family, Lance Legree, New York Giants, New York Nemesis, New York Jets, New York Rangers, Nike, Inc., Ovie Mughelli Foundation, Queens Alumni Foundation of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Rocawear, Ryan Sims Foundation, Sferra Brothers, SONY BMG, Sporting Chance Foundation, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., Sports Museum of America, Staples, Tony Hawk Foundation, Vitamin Water, Volunteers of America, and World Boxing Council's 'World Boxing Cares" and countless individuals who donated funds or school supplies.