PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Registration is open for a summer camp in Beaverton — run by a non-profit that provides free camps to minority and underserved youth.
The 2023 Elite Sports Academy camp will be held at Springville Elementary School — offering kids the chance to play a variety of sports including soccer, dodgeball and football.
“I was lucky enough to be able to, when I was a kid, go to a lot of camps and try new sports and play club year-round,” Elite Sport Academy Executive Director Andy White explained. “I wanted every kid to have that same experience I did.”
Through the non-profit’s sponsor program, the organization offers free camps to underserved kids.
“We’ve created a model similar to Tom’s Shoes – buy a pair of shoes, give a pair of shoes – we’re doing that with summer camps where essentially, if you send a kid to one of our sponsor programs, we sponsor a kid for free at one of our impact programs,” White said.
Over the last eight years, White says the camp has hosted 3,000 kids and served 30,000 free meals.
“It really, honestly, makes more of an impact than I even could’ve dreamed of. I started it obviously knowing that it’d be great for kids to have these types of programs and just to have a fun summer, a safe place to be and maybe a little bit better at sports, maybe make some friends,” White said.
“The impact goes way beyond just having a fun summer. We’ve seen improved test scores, and grades for the following year,” White said. “We’ve heard from parents and kids, their social skills, and their group of friends, and their confidence, and leadership and you name it have really just improved being in that sports setting.”
The camp runs from June 26 through August 11.