The New York City Police Athletic League announced that it has been named a StubHub Rising Star, receiving a major grant of $200,000 over the next three years from the StubHub Foundation, a corporate advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, to support a year-round partnership focused on PAL’s sports programs for inner-city boys and girls, including youngsters in the Bronx.
The award provides funding for the research, development and implementation of a state-of-the art elite sports clinic, general operating support for sports programming, and funding for summer special events and activities. In addition, StubHub is providing in-kind resources to PAL, such as opportunities to build its exposure among the millions of sports, music and theater fans who use StubHub to discover and access live entertainment events.
“StubHub is thrilled to bring our Rising Stars charitable program to the great city of New York, the place that has produced more athletes and stars than any other,” said Emma Leggat, StubHub Head of Corporate Social Responsibility. “We are proud to support PAL’s efforts to use sports to increase access and opportunity for New York youth and excited to find ways to share PAL’s story with our customers.”
The partnership kicked off with the 2013 PAL Summer Play Streets program, where StubHub’s famous “spokes-tree” Ticket Oak, made special appearances in the form of a free food truck and giant “Ticket Oak’s Backyard” game to help entertain PAL youth in the Bronx and Harlem.
Summer is a time of the year when it is especially important to give inner-city children a place to enjoy free recreational and educational activities. Sponsored by StubHub, the PAL soccer team also visited Play Streets this summer teaching NYC kids fundamentals of soccer, sportsmanship, teamwork, respect, discipline and the importance of staying fit.
This was a first step toward the goals of the StubHub Foundation grant to expand PAL sports programming to include soccer, and to develop a model for elite PAL sports clinics throughout the city. Over 700 kids have already taken part in soccer activities, and soccer clinics will continue this fall at PAL’s Teen Impact Centers.
“PAL is honored to be StubHub’s next Rising Star,” said Alana Sweeny, PAL Executive Director, “Linking PAL’s sports programming to StubHub’s focus on sports and entertainment experiences is a natural partnership that will bring numerous opportunities and experiences to the children PAL serves. We are most grateful to StubHub for their support of PAL’s programs.”
Over 13,000 boys and girls in all five boroughs participate in PAL Sports programs and Cops & Kids Sports. PAL Sports is a year-round program with thousands of young New Yorkers playing basketball from January to March, soccer in the spring, softball in the summer and flag football in the fall. Activities include competing in organized team tournaments.
About StubHub
StubHub is the world’s largest ticket marketplace, enabling fans to buy and sell tickets to tens of thousands of sports, concert, theater and other live entertainment events. StubHub reinvented the ticket resale market in 2000 and continues to lead it through innovation. The company’s unique online marketplace, dedicated solely to tickets, provides all fans the choice to buy or sell their tickets in a safe, convenient and highly reliable environment. All transactions are processed and delivered by StubHub and backed by the company’s FanProtect Guarantee™. Company partners include the San Francisco Giants and University of Texas, along with over 60 teams in MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and NCAA, complemented by companies such as ESPN, AEG, Tickets.com, and Paciolan. StubHub is also the official naming rights partner of StubHub Center, a 125-acre major league sports venue in Southern California, home to MLS’ LA Galaxy and Chivas USA.
StubHub is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY). For more information on StubHub’s CSR programming including Rising Stars, visit StubHub.com/community-pages/, Twitter.com/StubHub, Facebook.com/StubHub, or YouTube.com/StubHub.
About the Police Athletic League
New York City’s Police Athletic League is the first and finest civilian-run PAL in the country. Founded in 1914, PAL has served the city’s young people for 99 years. PAL provides recreational, educational, cultural and social activities to 40,000 boys and girls annually. It is also the city’s largest, independent, nonprofit youth organization. For more information, please visit www.palnyc.org.