As our continued response to COVID-19, Athletes for Hope is going to focus its collective attention and efforts on the educational losses of children in underserved communities. During a typical summer, the “summer slide” is a major problem with students losing their academic gains. Now with students having even more time away from the classroom this problem is only going to get worse. A recent study shows that students will return to class in 2020 with only 70% of their learning gains in reading from the previous year and less than 50% of their learning gains in math. In some grades children will be a year behind because of COVID-19.

To address this issue, Athletes for Hope has partnered with two great non-profit organizations: 4-H and Springboard Collaborative. Springboard Collaborative is a non-profit that helps kids learn to read by closing the literacy gap between home and school. Springboard Collaborative’s programs focus on pre-k through 3rd graders where they train parents to teach reading at home with workshops and daily reading instructions.

And, 4-H is a non-profit that provides hands-on programming that empowers young people with the skills they need for today and to be prepared for future careers. 4-H programs are research-backed and reach nearly six million young people.

Athletes for Hope has created a menu of options for AFH members to become involved with these effective organizations. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Chris Wyttenbach at cwyttenbach@athletesforhope.org.