Small Group, Big Vision
Steven Haynes, a former pro football player, created the San Diego-based nonprofit Athletes for Education (AFE) to help athletes and entertainers give back to the community in meaningful ways. Steve had great ideas about how to improve life for kids in low-income areas, but didn't have the means to turn those dreams into reality. Then, about eight years ago, Steve met the family members involved with The Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Foundation. The Dickinson family recognized Steve's passion and shared his vision for investing in wellness programs for children: an issue now in the headlines due to First Lady Michelle Obama's campaign to reduce childhood obesity. To help kids here in San Diego improve their health and do better in school, the Dickinson Foundation and AFE formed a lasting partnership.
Helping Kids Be Healthy and Ready to Learn
At Sunset Elementary School in San Ysidro, attendance and test scores were low and obesity rates were high. So, AFE and Steve Gregory of the San Diego Chargers launched the SG Squad program there. The idea is simple: kids come to school early to exercise. They're motivated to keep coming by the promise of interacting with the athletes, and AFE incentives like game tickets and movie nights.
The results have been amazing: not only have kids benefitted physically, but attendance rates at the school have shot up to between 98-99% daily. Parents and grandparents are coming to exercise with their children. After working out and having a healthy meal, the kids are ready to learn, as shown by their improving test scores. In fact, Sunset has been named a California Distinguished School.
The Next Level
Thanks to the Dickinson Foundation's continuing support, AFE was able to strengthen the program and "take it to the next level," according to Haynes. They now partner with the San Diego Food Bank to distribute nutritional food, and collaborate with Sharp HealthCare to provide health education and track student improvements (which will document successes and make it easier to gain future funding). Schools all over the region want to work with AFE, and the foundation is helping them connect with other grantmakers and build their infrastructure to enable this growth. Since the initial grant, Dickinson has supported AFE every year, and family members have donated and volunteered as well.
What Does This Mean About Philanthropy?
According to Kris Dickinson, the strength of foundations is that they "have the flexibility to seek out hidden gems and to take chances on people with strong visions." When the Dickinson family first encountered AFE, it was a group with limited resources. But the foundation believes in investing in "lean and mean" organizations: while there are risks that programs might fail, the upside is enormous. Haynes says the Dickinsons "didn't ask for 10 years of data and a professionally-written grant application--they just said 'keep doing what you're doing and we'll help'." Grantmakers like The Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Foundation support people with unique ideas who just need help bringing those ideas to life.
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