SCORES Thermometer's Rising

The SCORES thermometer's mercury is rising with the temperatures in Seattle. The latest update shows us at almost 50% of the way to our goal. We thank all of you who have donated so far, but we ask those who haven't to give any amount to our students.

With the end of the year approaching, we know many out there are reviewing their charitable donations for the year. Please consider a gift to SCORES and, more importantly, the poet-athletes from six high-need elementary schools.

Your donation allows them to get out on a soccer field or stay in the classroom after school. It also helps them earn pride through their community service and develop confidence in expressing themselves through writing and speaking coaching. The donation starts as a gift, but ends up changing lives with SCORES.

Here is a story about the impact of SCORES from Coach Blair at Dunlap Elementary:

"I was sitting next to a quiet boy named Andrew during the poetry slam. Andrew is in 4th grade. During the photo highlights he whispered in my ear “I hope there is a picture of me.” Towards the end of the video there Andrew was big as day on the big screen. He had just earned a gold card at the game. I looked over at Andrew and saw tears in his eyes. It made me realize that we forget sometimes what an impact Scores has on the kids and how important a uniform or a simple picture is to them."

Thanks for the donations so far, but lets keep the thermometer moving up!

Healthy Tips for Eating Right

This is a link we found while learning what makes a meal healthy for kids. These are just five tips to getting kids into eating right and hopefully liking it. The article highlights the importance of making family meals a part of every day, if possible. It also says that parents cannot tell their children to eat well, but not have healthy habits themselves. It's an example showing that "do as I say, not as I do," doesn't work. The article also wants parents to have healthy snacks easily available to kids. Check out the article to find the other ways to keep your kids eating right. They may end up happier and healthier because of it!

Here is the link.

Be in the Know

Here are some interesting articles we found while perusing through the news today and the past week. We are striving to become a resource for our readers.We want to inform everyone of the issues SCORES cares about. Here are some articles dealing with Seattle schools, books, education, athletes and where they intersect. We'll try to hit these issues on regular basis and also try to expand to include nutrition, healthy lifestyles and maybe throw in some recipes too. We'll see where the news of the day can take us.

Seattle School Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson Donating her Bonus -Seattle Times- Dec. 10, 2009

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010472506_webbonus10m.html

“Elliot Bay Books Store Moving to Capitol Hill” -Seattle Times- Dec.9, 2009

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2010467342_elliottbay10.html

Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow and others doing well on and off the field-New York Times -Dec. 8^th, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/sports/ncaafootball/09vecsey.html?_r=1&ref=education

"Ianni's life is changed, but not his hometown" -Lodi News Sentinel- December 10, 2009

http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2009/12/10/sports/1_ianni_camp_091210.txt

Pledge Drive Update

So far we are gaining momentum and the thermometer is rising. We are hovering around $8,000 so far. While this is a strong response, we still have a ways to go before reaching our goal. The money we'll raise this holiday season will help transform the lives of our poet-athletes. You can change a child's after school activity from watching TV to playing soccer and receiving writing coaching. They'll have the opportunity to visit Seattle University and get a taste of college life while receiving soccer training. This helps make them realize college is for everyone, not just everyone else. These life changing experiences all start with a donation to SCORES this holiday season.

Keep checking back to watch the thermometer rise and the possibilities for change with it.

New SCORES PSA

Here is a new America SCORES Seattle public service announcement. It features Kasey Keller with a couple of our very own SCORES poet-athletes from Dunlap Elementary.

Taylor Graham wins Humanitarian Award

Sounders FC's defense man Taylor Graham won the team's Humanitarian Award for his charitable work. He has been especially active with America SCORES Seattle this season.

Taylor has been unable to play for much of the season due to some foot injuries. So instead of being inactive with his time off, he has been very active in charities like ours.

Taylor has been a huge asset to SCORES this season. He made it to our Fall Frenzy soccer event in September. Taylor walked around talked to all poet-athletes, having pictures taken and really making the students day.

You could see the kids smiles grow when he approached each team. However, some teams made him prove he actually played for the Sounders. He had to list off most of the team's roster before they would believe him. Once he did though, the smiles grew larger and larger as the kids believed they were in the presence of a professional athlete. He really helped make the afternoon special for the kids.

Taylor also came to our Poetry Slam! last month. He was one of the judges. The kids lit up again when they saw him walking through the auditorium. But the students surprised Taylor at the event when the Dunlap boys dropped his name in their poem. Taylor's smile was as big as the kids! It was a great night of the kids poetry and another example of him, just by being there, making others feel special.

The SCORES staff wants to thank Taylor for all his efforts with our organization this year. Also, congratulations on a well deserved award.

Here's a link to the article.

Holiday Pledge Drive

The combination of funding cuts and an increased need for programming means that SCORES currently can’t meet the needs of our community.

Thanks to your past support, America SCORES Seattle has been able to provide programs that empower children in Seattle’s high-needs elementary schools to realize their unique potential through writing, soccer and community service.

To meet the challenges that our organization is currently facing, our goal is to raise $30,000 by December 31^st.

Here’s how your contribution can impact our young, poet-athletes…

$5800 -- Provide certificated teachers to coach a SCORES soccer or writing team
$3000 -- Fund safe transportation to and from SCORES program
$1000 -- Sponsor a soccer & community service celebration or Poetry Slam
$800 -- Provide a healthy after school snack for a team of hungry poet-athletes
$350 -- Sponsor a SCORES Game Day
$150 -- Fund a SCORES team’s community service project
$32 -- Provide a SCORES team with writing journals
$____ -- Any amount is appreciated

Thank you very much! Your contribution will keep our program viable for hundreds of Seattle children and continue to enrich the lives of our community’s most vulnerable.

Please donate today.

Best wishes for happy, healthy holiday season.