Putnam Foundation and Boys and Girls Club Bring Football back to N. Seattle

Through the generosity of all those who attended the New Year's Eve Hats and Bats Gala, the Putnam Foundation partnered with N. Seattle Boys and Girls Club to bring youth football back to an area that was in need of an accessible for program for kids.

According to Tommy Curry, the Club's Athletic Director, "Football helps promote social skills along with nutritional values. Physical contact on the field combined with that sense of teamwork and sportsmanship helps to make a well rounded kid." We were honored to have Tommy address the crowd on New Year's Eve and drive home the importance football plays in the community. Football is a sport that brings the whole community out and together.

According to Derek Smith, the Club Director, "The Putnam Foundation has restored a piece of our past at North Seattle and provided a new opportunity for our youth to grow and succeed.

The Program has already recruited 70 kids and will field a competitive team of 30 this fall. We couldn't be more proud to be a part of this exciting program.

Watch out N. Seattle . The Kids from the Boys and Girls Club are on the March.

The Putnam Foundation has made a long term commitment to fund the baseball league that will bring organized baseball to North Spokane .  We have partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Spokane County to make sure that hundreds of children in that community will have the opportunity to play, get involved, and learn the game of baseball, including leadership skills of the "American Pastime." 

We want to thank all of those who donated to the "Field of Dream" fund that made this project possible. This is the first of many projects the foundation will be funding.

The Putnam Foundation and the YMCA of the Inland Northwest have teamed up together to build programs that will serve kids in the downtown Spokane and Spokane Valley area.  In 2005, the Putnam Foundation will provide sponsorship to kids playing baseball, basketball, swimming, volleyball, and swim team. In 2006 the Putnam Foundation and the Inland YMCA will look to launch programs focused making sure all kids have the opportunity to stay involved in competitive sports throughout Junior High and High School when so many are often left out due to funding.  "We will be working to make sure this vital time is filled with positive people who care for these kids", said Putnam Foundation Executive Director, Chris Turnley.  "We recognize that children must connect with their communities and that by playing and having positive mentors in their lives, that connection can be fostered."

This program will help give many kids a chance to play and the YMCA to better service their community and their mission.  For more information, please see www.ymcaspokane.org .

The Putnam Foundation and the YMCA of the Inland Northwest are expanding their partnership in 2006 to address direct needs in the Spokane Community. In 2006 the Putnam Foundation and the Inland YMCA will look to launch programs focused making sure all kids have the opportunity to stay involved in competitive sports throughout Junior High and High School when so many are often left out due to funding.  "We will be working to make sure this vital time is filled with positive people who care for these kids".

There are only so many places on Varsity and Junior Varsity at the high-school level.  This leaves many kids in a potentially tough situation as the lack of community resources leaves many without positive influences and experiences. This partnership will look to help fill that gap. "We recognize that children must connect with their communities and that by playing and having positive mentors in their lives, that connection can be fostered." We are also launching our Grid kids Program that will allow dozens of kids to experience football and see the reward to hard work and dedication. We are very proud of this partnership in the Spokane Area.

This program will help give many kids a chance to play and the YMCA to better service their community and their mission.  For more information, please see www.ymcaspokane.org .

Soccer in Scouting Expands with new Partnership

The Putnam Foundation has committed to support the Seattle Soccer and Scouting program to connect young boys and girls to the values, lessons and fun of Scouting.  The Boy Scouts of America has launched its Soccer and Scouting program as an outreach to Hispanic youth and families. Soccer and Scouting will teach soccer skills and provide exciting competition, and at the same time boys will be Cub Scouts and learn the life-long values taught in the Scouting program. All of the materials will be published in English and Spanish.  

This groundbreaking program combines the values, patriotism, and respect of the Scouts with the fun and teamwork of Soccer.  The low-cost, fun-filled three-season program in Tukwila is now sponsored by BOTH the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America.  The Putnam Foundation will be supporting the program in its second year with a grant of $4957.00 to allow the program to gram and expand and serve the Maple Valley Area. This will allow the program to reach its goal of servicing 600 kids by the end of 2006.

"We are structuring the entire program around the family," program coordinator Luis Garcia said. "Although we teach soccer skills, our primary goal is to teach life skills through Scouting.  The generosity of the Putnam Foundation will help make this happen. "

"We are honored to support this program that reaches kids and makes such a lasting impression on them.  Communities will be better because these kids learned vital skills, connected with incredible mentors, and had a blast." 

You can learn more by logging onto: http://www.soccerandscouting.org/

Seattle SCORES develop programs that use the world's most popular sport, soccer, to energize and inspire public school students. These programs require that our children use the teamwork they learn on the soccer field to support each other as poets and authors in the classroom. The combination is unique and it works.

Every day, SCORES programs are creating a bond between thousands of our students and their classmates, their teachers, their schools and their communities!

The Putnam Foundation is teaming with Seattle Scores to expand the program to Emerson Elementary Soccer for the 26 week combination of soccer and reading, where 2-3 days a week are dedicated to soccer and
2-3 days are dedicated to tutoring and reading comprehension. This is currently the only after school sports program at Emerson Elementary. This program will work to build responsibility, skills and a sense of teamwork in the kids. This type of long-term program will have lasting effects for these kids, most of whom, have never participated in an after-school sport.

We would like to invite you to come out to a game and route on "our" Emerson Team.

Scores is expanding its program to 5 days per week as it continues to utilize the medium of soccer to inspire literacy in Elementary Children ages 8-11. The Putnam Foundation and Seattle Scores are starting the second year at Emerson Elementary.

We have seen a dramatic increase in the 3 of kids and this summer the Emerson students were chosen to present poetry to Senator's Maria Cantwell and Barack Obama.

Pictured above are some Emerson elementary Students with Representatives from Maria Cantwell's Office.

For More information go to: www.seatttlescores.org Go Eagles!!!

One hundred eighty-four kids will receive scholarships for The First Tee of Greater Seattle program for the 2006 golf season, thanks to a grant from the Peter M. Putnam Foundation.  The $5,520 gift will cover all program fees for youngsters ages 8 to 18.

The Issaquah, Wash. based Putnam Foundation, whose goal is to "Change lives, one game at a time," is also promoting support for The First Tee by encouraging its supporters to donate used clubs and golf balls for the kids, and to volunteer with the organization.

"Our goal of changing lives one game at a time is accomplished through the hard work and dedication of our partner programs like The First Tee of Greater Seattle," said foundation director Chris Turnley.  "They have created a program where kids develop discipline, honesty, a connection to the community and will forever see the world differently than when they showed up," he remarked.

Named in memory of Peter M. Putnam, the year-old Putnam Foundation provides opportunities to learn the values of competition, leadership and fair play by promoting increased participation in youth sports.  Pete Putnam, a native of Spokane and 1990 graduate of Washington State University, enjoyed sports throughout his life, which was cut short by Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (CJD), a rare and fatal human neurodegenerative condition. He died Oct. 20, 2003 at the age of 35, only months after his diagnosis.

Turnley said the Putnam Foundation (www.putnamfoundation.com ) honors Pete's passion for youth sports and the lifelong friendships he developed through his childhood teammates. The Foundation promotes increased participation in youth sports, often in partnership with community groups, to provide affordable opportunities for children to learn the values of competition, leadership and fair play.

"It seems every year more and more programs are cut," Turnley observed, noting, "The exceptional work that is done by The First Tee of Greater Seattle is needed more today than ever. The communities served by this program will be forever better because kids found mentors who spent time teaching them how to think positively about the game, their power of attitude, and the importance of responsibility.  This time together will have a lifetime of lessons, on and off the course," he stated.

About The First Tee

The First Tee (www.thefirsttee.org ) is an initiative of the nonprofit World Golf Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization based in St Augustine, Fla., at World Golf Village, home of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Its mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf.

Since its inception in 1997, The First Tee has opened 266 golf-learning facilities in 41 states and five international locations and has introduced the game of golf to more than 627,000 participants.

The First Tee of Greater Seattle (www.TheFirstTeeSeattle.org ) was formed in 2001 from a collaborative effort involving the Broadmoor Golf Club Foundation, The First Tee, the board of Municipal Golf of Seattle and the City of Seattle. During 2005, its third year of programming, approximately 675 kids attended weekly classes at three golf courses.