Power of one foundation

Pride Soccer & Power Of One

Pride Soccer & Power of One launch initiative to expand access to youth sports for children in Colorado Springs with $20,000 commitment.

Colorado Springs, (December 15, 2021) – The board of directors of Pride Soccer are proud to announce an initial $20,000 commitment to provide greater access to youth sports in Colorado Springs. Through a first-ever partnership with the Power of One Foundation, Pride Soccer will provide over $20,000 to provide access to underserved youth in Colorado Springs in 2022.

Starting in January 2022, the funding will provide direct grants to families to offset fees, uniform costs, and participation in camps. Pride Soccer will also provide free access to fields and equipment for practices, games, events, and fundraisers, as well as volunteer coaches for newly formed teams. The Power of One Foundation will oversee the enrollment of new players and ensure each participant receives the support required to succeed both on and off the field. All participants engage in community service projects and peer mentorship as a part of the program, and in high school will become eligible for college tuition rewards as well.

The Aspen Institute reports that students active in sports have better educational outcomes and opportunities at all levels. The goal of the initiative is to bring over 150 youth players from lower-income and single-parent households into competitive sports as a catalyst for greater academic achievement and college enrollment opportunity.

Founded by Mackenzie Morris, the Power of One Foundation provides youth sports scholarships and college tuition rewards to lower-income and single-parent households.

Through POF, Morris currently serves nearly 20 youth players in Colorado Springs having funded $6,500 over the past year to ensure every child who wants to play soccer has that opportunity. “Your income or home situation should not determine whether youth sports are available to you,” Morris said. “The power of sports to transform a child’s life and provide opportunities for post secondary success is proven time and time again. Youth sport involvement fosters so much more than just better athletes, it helps build better people in our communities.”

Morris is no stranger to the struggles of her target audience to make ends meet. “As a single mother I have to work hard every day to provide for my daughter while living on one income. Youth sports provided me with opportunities I never would have had. My mission in this project is to continue to expand access for families who have big dreams for their own kids. If I can help give them the tools and resources for success both on and off the field, they’ll do the rest–just like I did.”

“This is just another step in our commitment to the community,” said Candace Brooks, Founder and Executive Director of Pride Soccer. “As the largest youth sports organization in the Pikes Peak region, we have unique resources and responsibility to grow participation in soccer where it matters most. Participation in youth sports promotes higher academic achievement in high school and also opens pathways to college education. We believe soccer can be the vehicle to longer-term life success for youth in our community.”

Morris and Brooks have a long history going back to 1994 when a then four-year-old “Kenzie” signed up to play soccer with Pride’s very first team, coached by Brooks. “Kenzie was on the first 4 year old team I had back in ‘94. I still have the team picture and the signed ball in my office,” Brooks shared. “It is a full circle moment for me and Pride Soccer. To watch one of our own players grow up in the program and now commit to giving back to our community is something that is hard to express in words. To see kids come back to the club and give back to their community makes my heart full. That is why I do this!”

If you’d like more information on the Power of One Foundation, or to apply for financial assistance, you can visit their website at www.thepowerofonefoundation.com, or e-mail info@thepowerofonefoundation.com.

To donate, you can text “give” to 719-745-8892.

About Power of One

Who are we?

President and founder, Mackenzie Morris, is a single mom on a mission to bring equal opportunity for parents like her, and to low income families, to play sports, achieve their post-secondary goals, and become better people in the process.

What do we do?

We use sports as a means to help build character and provide opportunity to achieve goals. We offer financial aid to play club affiliated sports. We have 2 different soccer scholarships you can apply for:

Every Kid Gets A Kick Scholarship (soccer scholarship for youth of single parent homes). Scholarship Application
Chance at Gol (soccer program/financial aid for youth of low income families and/or at-risk youth).

Why The Power of One Foundation?

We offer 3 main objectives in our program:

Inclusivity- allowing any player to have a place they belong, whether it be on a team or in an organization, we want to offer you support in the sport family.
Equal Opportunity- we take the “pay to play” model and shift it to “everyone play” with our scholarships, that often pay for a large percentage if not all fees associated with the sport.
Possibility- we offer tuition rewards, college recruiting assistance for soccer, mentorship, community service projects, career pathways, and are determined to give the tools your child(ren) need to reach their goals in life.

Contact:

Mackenzie Morris at mmorris@pridesoccer.com OR info@thepowerofonefoundation.com