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BANNOCKBURN, ILLINOIS (April 17, 2025) — CHAMPRO announced the latest recipients of its spring round of the Teamwork Grant Program, which supports youth teams, leagues and organizations that might otherwise lack sufficient funding.
The following eight recipients were selected:
- City of Clarion, Iowa
- Easthampton Little League in Easthampton, Mass.
- Indiana Central Little League in Indianapolis
- Laporte JO Volleyball in Laporte, Minn.
- Marina City Junior Football in East China, Mich.
- Rochester Area Club Lacrosse in Rochester, Minn.
- TROY (Truly Reviving Our Youth) Center in Fresno, Calif.
- Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckly, W.Va.
“CHAMPRO honored to assist these dedicated programs in their mission to mentor, empower and train the youth in their community,” said Bill Hunt, CEO and founder of CHAMPRO. “Every child deserves the opportunity to play their favorite sport, learn what it means to be on a team, and carry those leadership and life skills with them for the rest of their lives. We’d like to thank every organization who applied to this grant for their hard work.”
Nicholas Butler, chief visionary officer at the TROY Center, founded the nonprofit organization in 2017 to foster youth development through mentorship, educational and life skills programs. The center plans to use the grant to provide more sports equipment and uniforms for its soccer, flag football and kickball programs, as well as sports clinics. Portions of the grant will also be used to enhance current facilities, provide training to volunteer coaches and implement youth leadership opportunities.
“I’m extremely grateful and humbled. It gives me that little extra push,” Butler said. “It’s an honor to receive the grant, and we look forward to being able to put this to great use.”
Butler is most looking forward to using the grant to host more flag football events, where he often invites teammates from his time playing football at California State University, Fresno — such as former Minnesota Viking Bernard Barrion and former Houston Texan Paul Williams. “The kids light up when they see pro athletes. They can see that playing a sport is something tangible and doing it at the TROY Center is something they can look forward to,” he said. “Sports teaches you how to work together, and we want to instill that in our kids. Had it not been for sports in my life, I may not be around today.”
Of all team sports participants, only 6.5% come from households with incomes of less than $25,000 annually while 66% come from households with incomes of $75,000 or more, according to NSGA’s annual Sports Participation in the U.S. report. CHAMPRO aims to open up access to team sports for kids in under-resourced communities across the country with its Teamwork Grant Program.
“Making team sports more accessible to all is a top priority for us,” Hunt said. “We’re excited to open up the next round of applications and continue the Teamwork Grant Program for many more rounds to come.”
The next round of Teamwork Grant applications will open May 1, 2025. Follow CHAMPRO on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn to be the first to know when the application goes live.
CHAMPRO is a member and supporter of NSGA. Bill Hunt is a member of the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame.
Topics
Indiana Central Little League Laporte JO Volleyball Marina City Junior Football Rochester Area Club Lacrosse TROY Woodrow Wilson High School Mentor Empower Teamwork Grant Program City of Clarion Easthampton Little League CHAMPRO