New Fields Help Expand Benefits of Sports-Based Youth Development to Kids in North and Southwest Philly
Through teamwork between Street Soccer USA, love.fútbol and Pincus Family Foundation, as well as local community partners and volunteers, two new fields have been built and inaugurated in Philadelphia! The fields, located at the historic Dr. Tanner G. Duckrey Elementary School in North Philadelphia and James Finnegan Playground in Southwest Philly, mobilized and united the community to reclaim the spaces and provide brand new neighborhood infrastructure where kids can play, learn, and have fun through sports-based youth development programming. In all, more than 325 volunteers, 2,900 build hours, and a dozen partners contributed to completing the two field projects.
The fields will host SSUSA programs run by Philadelphia Program Manager King Saah, who helped with the two Build Days and Inaugurations. “Seeing these fields go from an idea to fully finished – and being a part of that process – is amazing,” said Saah. “We’re grateful to all the partners involved, especially love.fútbol and the Pincus Family Foundation for making this happen, and I can’t wait to use the fields for programming for years to come.”
The Tanner Duckrey field was inaugurated on October 24 by more than 200 students and adults in a celebration featuring music, performances and of course, soccer! The project was made possible by dedicated student advocates collaborating with the above partners, as well as The Friends of Dr. Tanner G. Duckrey, The Big SandBox, Fountain of Youth Preventive Health Inc., and the School District of Philadelphia. The event also served as the official kickoff for Phase Two of an ongoing redevelopment project on the site which will be completed by the end of the year, bringing the space two upgraded NBA size courts, an outdoor classroom area, a peace garden, art installations, new equipment and more.
The exciting inauguration and ribbon cutting at James Finnegan on October 26 included dance performances, remarks from community leaders and Parks & Recreation, a local vendor fair, and again, soccer programming! The former hockey rink will now be a field where Saah and the other SSUSA coaches can run our transformative and unique soccer-based educational programming that has proven impact in changing lives.
“The community collaboration and the teamwork between partners to make these fields a reality embodies what Street Soccer USA is about,” commented Lawrence Cann, Street Soccer USA Founder. “We’re proud to help drive projects that strengthen communities in Philadelphia. For us the last day of field building is the first day of programming that will have lasting and life-changing impact.”
Street Soccer USA currently runs programs for approximately 100 participants in North and West Philadelphia, and now South Philadelphia with the building of this new field. For more information about Street Soccer USA in Philadelphia, please contact King Saah: King@Streetsoccerusa.org.
Photos: Playmakers Studio