OUR PILLARS

Physical Fitness

According to respondents who have played competitive sports, the top skills gained from competitive sports include teamwork (69%) and leadership (41%). Other skills include managing stress and pressure (36%), problem solving (35%), and effective communication (34%). (deloitte)
High school students, especially female students, who play sports are less likely to drop out.
Physically active children are 15% more likely to attend college.
Former student athletes tend to earn significantly higher incomes than those who did not play sports.
Student athletes earn up to 40% higher test scores

Mental & Emotional Health

According to the CDC, Over 1 in 5 youth (ages 13-18) either currently or at some point during their life, have had a seriously debilitating mental illness
Mental wellness has a direct correlation to physical health
According to the California Master Plan for Kids’ Public Health, over 284,000 youth cope with major depression, and 66 percent of youth with depression do not receive treatment.
50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24
31% of LA’s adolescents (12–17) experienced a mental or behavioral health issue in 2024.
Gen Z youth in Los Angeles — where communities have faced recent devastating wildfires, along with immigration and affordability pressures — reported the highest levels of fair or poor mental health (42%), compared to 30% statewide when asked, “How is your mental health today?”

Nutrition

US students receive less than 8 hours of required nutrition education each school year, far below the 40 to 50 hours that are needed to affect behavior change. Additionally, the percentage of schools providing required instruction on nutrition and dietary behaviors decreased from 84.6% to 74.1% between 2000 and 2014. (cdc)
Research shows that nutrition education can teach students to recognize how a healthy diet influences emotional well-being and how emotions may influence eating habits.
Research shows that despite food insecurity slightly declining in L.A. County in 2021, it increased to 24% during 2022 and to 30% during the first half of 2023, “impacting over 1,000,000 households and 44% of low-income residents."
In Los Angeles, more than 3 in 10 teens are overweight or obese

Financial Literacy

Many individuals are functioning with a poor level of financial literacy. On average, U.S. adults correctly answered 48% of the index questions in 2023. Financial literacy levels among Asian Americans and Whites are roughly equal at 55% and 53% correct, respectively. Likewise, financial literacy levels among Black and Hispanic Americans are comparable; Black Americans correctly answered 34% of the index questions, on average, and Hispanics 38%. (TIAA)
According to a yearly test by the National Financial Educators Council (NFEC), of those aged 15 - 18 who took their National Financial Literacy Test, 52% did not achieve a passing score of 70 or more
Personal finance graduation requirements increase credit scores and decrease severe delinquencies for 18-22 year olds.
Student athletes who are required to take personal finance courses starting from a young age are more likely to tap lower-cost loans and grants when it comes to paying for college and less likely to rely on private loans or high-interest credit cards, according to a study by Christiana Stoddard and Carly Urban for the National Endowment for Financial Education.
Student athletes are also even more likely to enroll in college when they are aware of the financial resources available to help them pay for it.
Student athletes who are required to take personal finance courses starting from a young age are more likely to tap lower-cost loans and grants when it comes to paying for college and less likely to rely on private loans or high-interest credit cards.