LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The foundation started with proceeds from the 1984 Olympics awarded $1.5 million to 38 youth sports programs around Southern Californian this quarter, it was announced today.
The LA84 Foundation has invested more than $214 million since its inception and is on track to award close to $4 million in grants this year.
“We’re proud to continue the spirit of the Games and open doors to kids who might otherwise not have had the opportunity to participate in sports,” said LA84 Foundation President Anita L. DeFrantz, a 1976 Olympian and member of the International Olympic Committee.
The latest round of grants is expected to benefit about 37,000 youths engaged in athletic programs ranging from football to cycling to therapeutic horseback riding. Grants are awarded in Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura, Riverside, Orange and San Bernardino counties.
The LA84 Foundation also has a relationship with the Los Angeles Unified School District. The “Beyond the Bell Branch” program will get the largest grant, about $500,000, to provide year-round organized sports after school at all 98 middle schools in the district.
The running program, Students Run LA, received $125,000.
About $100,000 will go to the city’s Gang Reduction and Youth Development Foundation to help pay light bills as part of its Summer Night Lights program, an effort to light sports fields in 32 parks at night.
Since its inception in 1985, the LA84 Foundation has devoted over $214 million to support programs that have reached more than 3 million youth.
