Courts for Kids is a local nonprofit organization with a mission to foster love, compassion, service and an expanding worldview as they take teems to economically disadvantaged areas, partnering with local organizations and community members to build sports courts for kids. Every trip includes a collaborative effort between a local community and a team of volunteers. They facilitate the projects through volunteer teams to transcend 'distant acts of charity,' and become symbols of partnerships that will impact both groups for longer than the courts will last.

The teams include high schoolers, college groups, sports teams, senior project groups, youth groups, religious groups, adults groups and teams open to anyone from the general public. They choose locations where kids are the most restricted in terms of access to sports, traveling to places where they have been invited and a grassroots initiative has already been in place. They assist others where the vision is already present, but extremely difficult or unattainable without partnerships. Courts for Kids hires local contractors who themselves have a personal stake in the project to ensure local ownership, local procurement of materials, local construction techniques and sustainable systems. Volunteers work alongside the local company, mostly providing the manual labor

Through their experience they have found that a simple sports court can have multiple functions for a community. It can be a source of play and recreation for children and adults, but also a community gathering place, an income generator and a place for celebrations! Courts for Kids has been able to help 75 communities to date in Peru, India, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Indonesia and many other developing countries.

To provide opportunities for low-income students from our own communities, Courts for Kids has launched a scholarship fund to enable 10 local students to participate in the program's service programs. Courts for Kids will be hosting their fundraiser "Slam Dunk" Gala Auction Dinner on October 24th at the Heathman Lodge. Check out their website: CourtsforKids.org for more information