Birmingham nonprofit rebrands to enhance services for youth with summer tutoring and sports
The nonprofit formerly known as American Baseball Foundation rolled out its new brand Thursday in a big way. The organization hosted a celebrity baseball game at Rickwood Field.
Now called The Smartplay, the nonprofit is still helping students academically through the love of the game. Since 2014, the organization has helped more than 900 students through its summer sports program. The program started out as just a week long but is now a full month. In that time, students average nearly three months of growth in reading and nearly five months in math.
Alejandro Garcia was a four or five-year participant in the program as a child. He feels he didn鈥檛 just grow as an athlete or student, but he learned critical life skills he鈥檚 still using to score home runs today. As a teenager, he volunteered with the summer program. Now, he sits on the junior trustee board and continues to instill the same wisdom he learned when he was in their shoes.
鈥淒avid Osinski, [the founder of what was known as the ABF], was a role model throughout the summers,鈥� Garcia said. 鈥淗e was always about pushing us 鈥� teaching us about tenacity. That鈥檚 one word that I learned as a kid, and I still remember to this day. He would bring it up a lot. I鈥檓 very passionate about their mission, about educating kids, keeping them active and just providing a positive role model for them.鈥�
Now, part of The Smartplay鈥檚 rebranding is starting a five-year plan to give the kids a permanent facility. Thursday鈥檚 celebration was part of kicking that initiative off.
鈥淭he future growth we鈥檙e looking for is facilities of our own so we can have a bigger, broader impact in our community,鈥� The Smartplay鈥檚 executive director Casey Grammer said, 鈥渨here we can have a literal home base for our kids. This is that first step in that. Over the next five years is where we start to strategically plan. How are we going to build this out for our community? Because that鈥檚 where the work starts, and today鈥檚 that first step.鈥�
The Smartplay will kick off this year鈥檚 summer session on June 2. Registration costs $50.