Active Lives.
Empowered Futures.
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San Jose Earthquakes Women’s Soccer Appreciation Night
*Come get your A & W Rootbeer Float; all proceeds from the floats benefit BAWSI
Saturday, July 27
th
5:30 – 6:45 pm for the floats; Kickoff at 6:45 pm
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Just Like the USWNT, BAWSI Programming Dominates 2019
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The spring season of programming benefited 412 BAWSI Girls and 154 BAWSI Rollers from 16 different school sites. Overall, for the 2018-19 school year, we enrolled a total of
889 BAWSI Girls
and
305 BAWSI Rollers
and enjoyed an average weekly attendance rate of over 80% for both programs.
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Corrine Frese, Principal of Blackford Elementary in Campbell told us, “
One of the hardships that we often face as a school is helping to provide enrichment opportunities for our students at low, to no cost. While our families want the absolute best for their students, they are often faced with the reality that they cannot afford the programs that they would like their children to participate in. BAWSI Girls changes all of that. It has provided an opportunity to empower our girls to get involved in sports, build confidence in themselves, understand the importance of teamwork and truly believe in each other
.”
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Blackford Lead Special Education teacher, Leslie Anido told us about the BAWSI Rollers impact this year, “
The competitive nature of BAWSI allows students to feel real – so many times society wants to “protect” students with disabilities from the disappointment of losing by “sugar coating” events or not including them at all! Competition is good for everyone when it occurs in a safe, supportive and inclusive environment such as BAWSI!”
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Join us in what we like to call, “The Domestic Peace Corps for Female Athletes!” We are now seeking recently graduated female athletes to join out Athlete Leadership Team (ALT) for the upcoming 2019-20 school year. This is a ten-month, paid, part-time leadership experience where Athlete Leaders gain valuable work experience as they implement BAWSI curricula in local elementary schools. A hallmark of this job opportunity is the significant time and attention paid to the personal and professional development of our staff – in short, the ALT experience is transformational.
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Looking for Host Families
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Our Athlete Leaders (coaches) are fully vetted by us. They are responsible, respectful role models for the children we serve. We’re looking for host families who would be willing to offer up their spare rooms or guest homes to these dedicated community leaders. An Athlete Leader’s stay would begin in late August through mid-December, then mid-January through mid-June.
If you, or someone you know, would be willing to host a coach, please contact Jennifer at
jennifer@bawsi.org
.
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We Can’t Do It Without Our Volunteers
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We would like to thank all of our volunteers for bringing nonstop fun to our BAWSI playgrounds and for helping us with our mission to engage, inspire and empower the children who need us most. We had participation from 9 different Colleges/Universities and 11 local High Schools as well as representation from organizations such as Newsela and the West Coast Conference Student Athletic Advisory Committees. During this past 2018-2019 school year, we had 923 volunteer appearances which totaled over 1,000 volunteer hours for BAWSI. We appreciate the commitment, effort and time given to our BAWSI Girls and BAWSI Rollers, and we thank you for choosing to matter!
Want to get involved? Contact Courtney Good (
courtney@bawsi.org
) to get your team or company on the schedule!
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BAWSI Builds Foundation for Future
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We’re pleased to report that BAWSI successfully completed our first ever capital campaign of $250,000. Many thanks to our generous campaign donors who stepped up to provide the infrastructure we need to expand our impact in meaningful ways. Special thanks to the Morgan Family Foundation who put up a $50,000 match that got us to the finish line. Stay tuned for the results of our Strategic Planning process that will enable us to harness the power of sports to get BAWSI Girls into our local leadership pipelines.
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BAWSI Alumni Lights up the Night for BAWSI’s Annual Fundraiser
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BAWSI’s Light Up the Night fundraiser in May showcased a video filmed by Mikayla Simone Lyles, an accomplished filmmaker and basketball player who spent her year between UC Berkeley and UCLA Film school on the playgrounds as a BAWSI Athlete Leader. Her video highlights both our BAWSI Girls and BAWSI Rollers programs with an up close and personal look at two lives impacted by BAWSI. Watch here:
BAWSI's Light Up the Night
Gema Ortiz, former BAWSI Girl, current PhD candidate, and featured speaker for BAWSI’s Light Up the Night on May 3rd, reminisced about her favorite BAWSI Girls’ word of the week, and shared her memories of how BAWSI made a difference in her own life. Jet, a BAWSI Roller from Blackford Elementary, and his dad, Stephen also spoke during the evening. Jet used his “talking box” to convey a spirited message that addressed the lesson of inclusion. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Jet and Stephen were done. If you missed the event, or just want to hear them again, watch here:
Gema's talk
and
Jet and his dad, Stephen.
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Kaiser Permanente Sponsors BAWSI Girls Game Day
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“If I can see her, I can be her.” That’s the mantra that has guided BAWSI Girls since our inception and it was on full display this year at
BAWSI Girls Game Day
. 224 BAWSI Girls enjoyed a college campus experience that started with an outdoor soccer clinic led by SCU Women’s Soccer, and then featured our girls as the courtside cheering section for the Lady Bronco’s basketball team. There truly was something for everyone on Game Day and many people helped to bring the special magic to each BAWSI Girl. Thanks to Martha’s Kitchen and the National Charity League – Orchard Valley and Saratoga/Los Gatos chapters for providing healthy lunches for our girls and their families. Special thanks to Kaiser Permanente for sponsoring the day and planting the seeds that will help our BAWSI Girls THRIVE!
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BAWSI Welcomes 2 New Board Members
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We are thrilled to announce that Loni Keller and Craig Vent joined the BAWSI Board this spring, helping us fill key roles in finance and development. Loni Keller currently serves as the Director of Events at the Harker School in Saratoga, and brings years of experience in corporate training and Human Resources. A former collegiate soccer player and youth soccer coach, Loni will be Co-chairing our annual fundraising event.
Craig Vent brings over 25 years of experience in corporate finance, business planning, operations and IT. A cycling enthusiast, marathoner, golfer and regular volunteer youth coach, Craig has served on several non-profit Boards related to youth development through sports. He will be serving as our Board Treasurer.
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BAWSI Board Members in the News
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We’re so proud of all of our accomplished board members, but we had reason to celebrate three special achievements this past spring.
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You’ve seen her as the high-energy articulate Master of Ceremonies at our annual fundraising event for years. This summer
Danielle Slaton
won over the world audience as a match analyst for Fox Soccer at the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France. Danielle’s combination of soccer IQ, humor, civility and her own experience playing at the highest level, combined for a treat and left viewers appreciating the game and its players even more than when they first tuned in.
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BAWSI Welcomes San Jose Sharks Alum, Douglas Murray, to our Advisory Council
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We’re so pleased to welcome former San Jose Sharks defenseman, Olympian, and current President of the Sharks Alumni Foundation,
Douglas Murray
, to the BAWSI Advisory Council. After retiring from the NHL, Douglas has worked tirelessly in San Jose to give more children access to sports and physical activity through his work with the Sharks Alumni Foundation.
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Once again, the San Francisco 49ers and BAWSI teamed up to host the 11th annual T.H.I.N.K Gold! Conference. Over 50 high school female student athletes attended this memorable event revolving around the 49ers and BAWSI’s collaborative mission of encouraging young women to maximize their full potential in athletics, academics, and the community while reinforcing a healthy, well rounded lifestyle. Thanks again to the 49ers for believing in the power of female athletes and celebrating the young women in our community!
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BAWSI Lends a Hand at Children’s Champions
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BAWSI Athlete Leaders brought their cones, balls and goals to play their favorite games with enthusiastic neighborhood children at the annual Children’s Champions afternoon in East Palo Alto on May 18th. This family-friendly event, benefiting underserved children in the Bay Area is a day of fun and activity to foster healthy living. Thanks to the
Wender Weis Foundation
for its annual celebration of active kids and healthy families!
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West Coast Conference Student Leaders Learn by Giving Back
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Three years ago the West Coast Conference (WCC) was looking for a way to engage their student leaders in shared community service at their annual gathering of Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) leaders. Volunteering at BAWSI Rollers was the easy answer and for the third year in a row, both volunteers and Rollers careened, jumped, ran, walked and screeched with delight as they played together in adaptive games. The WCC volunteers were all-in and left a big impression on our Rollers, and our Rollers left an equally big impression and heartprint on the volunteers. See for yourself:
WCC student athletes at BAWSI Rollers.
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Where is She Now? Featuring Megan Wirth
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We ran in to Megan when she flew back from New York to celebrate the high school graduation of all-star BAWSI Roller, Jacque Rodriguez. Megan first met Jacque in 2010 at Orchard Elementary and they have stayed close ever since. Megan told us, “Jacque is, without fail, the best person I have met in my entire life. I’m a better person for that. She has provided me a perspective I don’t think she will ever understand.” Megan says BAWSI encouraged her to keep the connections going off the playground, so she was able to build trust and stay a part of Jacque’s life.
Today Megan is at Facebook in New York City where she’s responsible for program management within Facebook’s Recruiting function. BAWSI was fortunate to have Megan involved first as a volunteer from
the Santa Clara University Women's Softball team
and then as an employee.
In 2012, Megan was hired into the first cohort of our team coaching model. Leveraging relationships she made during BAWSI partner events with the San Francisco 49ers, Megan landed a job as their Community Relations Intern. In this role, (and using her BAWSI experience) she helped scale the 49ers Play 60 program, a program created to encourage at-risk kids to be active for 60 minutes a day. The 49ers then hired Megan full-time as a Museum Education Specialist at the Levi’s Stadium museum, where she spent two more years.
With many years of sports programming and management experience under her belt, Megan decided to transition her skillset to a different industry to chase new goals and allow for more flexibility. We are fortunate to have had such an extraordinary woman as part of our BAWSI Posse for so long! We can’t
wait to see how Megan applies her servant leadership ethos to Facebook.
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To make an online donation, please complete the secure form.
BAWSI is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization (federal tax ID #55-0897084)
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Active Lives. Empowered Futures.
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Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative | 1922 The Alameda, Suite 420 | San Jose, CA 95126 | 408.247.2544 |
bawsi@bawsi.org | Visit our website
here
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