What do former professional athletes like basketball stars Magic Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal, boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard and acclaimed ballerina Misty Copeland have in common?
Like both of us, they attended after-school programs that kept them active and safe from harm, and helped them discover their interests and talents. These star athletes can all identify a point in their youth when participating in an after-school program activity or meeting the right mentor — often both — made a difference in their lives.
Like them, hundreds of thousands of children in California today need After School Education and Safety programs to nurture their dreams. Unfortunately, unless Gov. Jerry Brown and the California Legislature agree to increase funding for these programs, and provide an adjustment for changes in the cost of living, many will begin to shut down as early as next year — leaving 50,000 low-income kids out in the street.
Every day, nearly 400,000 children across California look to their after-school programs — through the YMCA, Boys & Girls Club, After School All Stars, Beyond the Bell, LA’s BEST and other providers — for an opportunity to play sports under the watchful eye of a coach and mentor and in a safe environment. Many of these students come from low-resource, high-crime neighborhoods where structured sports activities are hard to come by.
According to Coaching Corps, a nonprofit that places volunteer coaches in after-school programs serving low-income communities, 64 percent of youth in middle- to upper-income families participate in sportsbut only 37 percent of disadvantaged youth. This is where after-school programs play a key role in closing the opportunity gap, removing financial barriers for underserved youth. Providing after-school programs sends the message to these students that they matter — that we believe in them enough to invest in their future.
This is why Chris started the Chris Paul Family Foundation (CP3 Foundation), which strives to level the playing field for children through education and sports. It’s also why Chris started the Afterschool Zone in New Orleans and sought out LA’S BEST in Los Angeles — because students from disadvantaged areas need education, love and support to realize their potential. After school programs serve as unique creative incubators for this growth to take place.
This is also the reason why the LA84 Foundation has invested in after-school programs.
We believe in after-school programs and think the governor should too. These programs are asking for a funding increase of only $1 a day per student, from $7.50 to $8.50. It works out to $73 million a year.
There is no political or policy rationale that can justify not prioritizing investment in the safety and success of California kids living in underserved communities.
It’s easy to lose sight of the gains we’ve made in providing a safe environment for children during the hours they’re not in school and their parents are at work. Thanks to California’s investments in education and after-school programs over the last 20 years, we’ve seen gains in graduation rates and student performance.
But we still have a long way to go. It is critical that we continue this momentum to improve education outcomes by investing in crucial after-school programs, offering kids an opportunity to challenge themselves to reach new heights just as sports legends have.
Chris Paul is an All-Star guard with the Los Angeles Clippers and founder, with his family, of the CP3 Foundation. Renata Simril is president & CEO of the LA84 Foundation.
