The mission of Beyond Sports is to provide access to sport through intentional programming and funding that addresses equity and unity in the Triad. 

The Facts:

• Children face barriers to participate in sports including, fees, equipment, and opportunities.
• 62% of children in our school system are low income. That is over 45,000 children.
• Guilford County has identified 80 Title I public schools for the 2021-2022 school year. At least 52.61% of the families in each of these schools are identified as low income.
• Children are affected in silent ways that diminish their quality of life and opportunities. 
• School sports and programing are on the decline due to limited budgets and support by the school system and the increased cost of gear needed to outfit a team.
• Students not involved in extracurricular activities are 57% more likely to drop out and 27% more likely to use drugs or get arrested.
• Only 5% of youth ages 5-18 reported meeting the federally recommended amount of exercise of 60 minutes per day.
• 70% of youth stop playing sports by 13 years old (girls are twice as likely than boys to drop out of youth sports by the age of 14).
• Household wealth is a primary driver of kids athletic participation. Compared to their peers whose families make more than $100,000, youth ages 6-12 whose family income is under $25,000 are nearly three times as likely to be inactive. 
• The # of children participating in youth sports continues to drop. While 45% of youngsters 6 to 12 regularly played team or individual sports in 2008, that number had fallen to 38% by 2018, according to a study by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. 

The Need:

Participation in school-based athletics has many short and long term benefits for student-athletes. Unfortunately, not all students have access to play and not all schools have adequate equipment and apparel. The reality is black and brown schools and communities are undeniably impacted more than affluent white schools and communities, and are likely to experience longer term health disparities due to the lack of adequate access to resources such as health care, food, and even athletics. 

The Impact:

• Playing sport helps children learn to control their emotions and channel negative feelings in a positive way. 
• Sports help develop patience and understand that it can take a lot of practice to improve both their physical skills and what they do in school.
• Participating in a sports program gets children more active and healthier! The activity helps reduce the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. 
• Through sports children gains various skills, experience and confidence that are helpful for developing their personality 
• Sports teach vital time management skills
• Sports offer children a range of appealing challenges. Healthy opportunities to learn skills, take risks, and achieve goals.
• Sports plays an important role in educating students as it teaches them to become strong from inside and also develop a fit and sound body. 
• Combining sports in education can help students to develop a self-motivating spirit to do things on their own and having ownership of these.

Community Partners

NC Fusion is committed to working with schools and other non-profits to support children in the community.

Here are some of our current and previous partners:

• Community in Schools
• Guilford County Schools: Rankin Elementary, Archer Elementary, New Comer School, Peck Elementary, Washington Elementary, Bessemer Elementary, Jackson Middle School, Hairston Middle School
• Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools: Konnoak Elementary and Kimberly Park Elementary
• New Arrivals Institute
• Center For New North Carolinians
• Greensboro Parks and Recreation
• Kings Cross Church
• University of North Carolina Greensboro
• Black Child Development Institute
• Presbyterian Church of the Cross