On average, $2 billion/year has been cut from sports programs in public schools since 2008. As a result, 40% of school districts are requiring a fee to play school sports or other extra curricular activities. Low-income youth don’t have the resources to participate and are therefore left with lots of idle time…time to get into trouble! As a result, nonprofits and faith based organizations are stepping in to fill the void.
In addition,
- One third of the nation’s children will already be overweight or obese by third grade. Obesity results in over 20% of the nations health costs.
- 30% of youth won’t graduate from high school and are 31% more likely to be unemployed than high school graduates. For low income communities, only half will graduate. The goal of Tri-Kids is a 90% High School graduation rate.Tri-Kids has had ZERO dropouts from kids participating in the Tri-Kids program in our 6 year history.
- Today, more than 750,000 youth are involved in gang activity.
- More than 80,000 fewer girls participated in school sports last year
Youth who play sports…
- Have a better chance of graduating high school and are 4 times more likely to attend college
- Are less likely to abuse drugs (46%) and alcohol (27%), or become pregnant.
- Have increased personal responsibility and are 3 times more likely to volunteer.
- Are 94% less likely to engage in criminal activity.
Out-of-school time, can be either an opportunity for youth to engage in positive activities that enhance their development, or a time to involve themselves in negative activities that end up costing the rest of society.

