Philadelphia

In Philadelphia, we partner with recreation centers and other community-based and non-profit organizations to introduce young people to the game and provide fun, safe, and positive recreational and youth development opportunities for kids of all skill and experience levels at no cost.

Background

In August 2021, through Philadelphia Adult League Softball, we collaborated with the Tommie C. Howell T-Ball Program, Men of Mill Creek, and USA Quickball to offer a free weeklong Baseball + Softball Skills Camp for children ages 6 to 15 that engaged 41 young people while Mill Creek Recreation Center was closed for COVID-19 testing. In July 2022, we partnered with the Mill Creek Recreation Center to offer weekly USA Quickball clinics for youth participants in Philadelphia Park and Recreation's six-week day camp hosted at Mill Creek.

Current + Future Programming

Since incorporating Change Up Sports, our priority for 2024 and beyond is to grow the number of young people in Philadelphia exposed to and involved in the game in a fun, positive way, as well as engaged in complementary youth development programming, through a range of community partnerships and initiatives:

More Than Sports Program

We partner with a range of recreation centers and community organizations to host clinics through our More Than Sports program. The More Than Sports program is our mixed-gender, entry-level sports-based youth development program designed to introduce–or reintroduce–young people to a sampling of sports and recreational activities in a positive, inclusive, and welcoming environment that prioritizes fun, learning, and skill-building. In addition to softball and baseball, the program features kickball, yoga, flag football, basketball, soccer, trivia, Zumba, and more, and also includes youth development activities such as educational workshops from community partners. We have ongoing partnerships with the Tiffany Fletcher Rec Center in West Philly, Happy Hollow Rec Center in Germantown, and African Family Health Organization to facilitate the program on a weekly basis in the summer as a part of their summer youth camps. All participants receive snacks, beverages, backpacks, school supplies, t-shirts, and trophies, and we engaged 73 young people over 13 sessions in 2024.

We also partner with the Community of Compassion CDC in Cobbs Creek--one of six Community Evening Resource Centers (CERC) throughout the City to provide a safe place for young people ages 6 to 18 to go between 7pm and 2am each night--to host clinics and youth development activities during the fall and winter, including a seven-week introductory softball and kickball series (plus snacks and pizza parties) with 30 young people in the fall of 2023 and two Zumba and trivia nights in the winter of 2024. We are currently hosting an eight-week session with Community of Compassion CDC in September and October 2024.

We also have an ongoing partnership with the Lucien E. Blackwell (LEB) Center and the Philadelphia Housing Authority and host periodic free youth Pizza + Kickball Nights at the LEB Center for young people 16 and under, including in June 2023 and January 2024.

Community Engagement + Health Events

We both host and participate in a range of youth and community engagment and health events with partners throughout the City, including hosting a Stop the Bleed training at the Tiffany Fletcher/Mill Creek Recreation Center through Penn Medicine Trauma Center in May 2023.

In addition, we participate in the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Center for Health Equity Community Health Partnership Clinics in Cobbs Creek on an ongoing basis as well as other neighborhood events as invited such as the Mill Creek Family Fun Day event in West Philly and the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) Philly Chapter’s Health and Wellness Summit at Esperanza Health Center in Kensington.

Interested in having Change Up Sports as a part of your community event? We can host a fun and engaging throwing stations geared for all ages and experience levels to introduce attendees to baseball/softball in a positive way and enable participants to test their throwing speed. We also provide healthy snacks at our throwing station. Reach out to kelly@letschangeupsports to get started.

Equipment + Supply Donations

We provide equipment support to our partners in the Mill Creek neighborhood of West Philadelphia, including donating new and gently used jerseys, baseball pants, batting gloves, helmets, bats, baseballs, equipment bags, and more to the new Mill Creek 14U travel ball team the Mill Creek Braves. We also donate new and gently used basketball balls to the Tiffany Fletcher Rec Center and the Lucien E. Blackwell Center and sponsor the trophies for their youth basketball leagues as needed. In 2023, we donated more than $1,000 worth of equipment.