Nike Makes Major Gift to New Boys and Girls Club

Beaverton-based Nike presented a check for $150,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Portland to help with the building of their new club at Southeast 165th Avenue and Stark Street in the Rockwood neighborhood. It will serve kids from Portland and Gresham.

The donation adds to the nearly $350,000 in additional support and in-kind contributions that Nike has already made to help get the new club off the ground.

"Nike believes in the power of sport to unleash potential, and we're proud to support Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland Metro build a new gymnasium at their Rockwood facility," said Jorge Casimiro, Nike VP of Global Community Impact. "Play and physical activity help kids do better in school and in life, yet today's generation of kids are the least active ever.

"By providing kids in the Rockwood community a place to play and enjoy sport and physical activity, we're increasing their chances of success in every aspect of their lives."

Boys & Girls Clubs intentionally locate clubhouses in communities that are identified as having few services for youth and high populations of poverty.

They say that they chose Rockwood after determining it's a critically underserved community with the largest concentration of youth 18 years of age and younger in the broader Metro area.

After the 2013 closing of the Police Activities League youth center in Rockwood and identifying the significant void in facility-based services for underserved youth when school is not in session, the City of Gresham began working with BGCP to bring a new Boys & Girls Club to the children and families in their community.

"We continue to be thrilled to welcome Boys & Girls Clubs to Gresham and Nike's enthusiastic support of this important project is invaluable," said Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis. "Boys & Girls Clubs and Nike are two organizations that are the absolute best at what they do and the City is proud to partner with them to bring Gresham's kids the recreational, educational and social opportunities they deserve."

Boys & Girls Clubs says that Nike' continued investment in the Portland-area Clubs provides valuable resources that include support of seasonal sports leagues; sponsorship of programs that inspire Club members to develop healthy and active lifestyles; and bringing families and staff together with youth to foster a love for running through the Marathon Kids program.

The Nike Rockwood partnership will go well beyond impacting the lives of the anticipated 250 Boys & Girls Club youth that will attend the new Club each day. The 7200-square-foot Nike gymnasium will be shared by Open School East, an alternative school for youth located adjacent to the Rockwood Club site. The gym will also be host to many other members of the broader Rockwood community to include non-profit partners, sports leagues and the community at large.

"We are truly honored and proud to partner with Nike to bring this new Club to life in Rockwood," said the CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs, Erin Hubert. "Their investment will not only help us build a first-class gymnasium in our new facility, it is a life-changing investment in the youth who live in this special community."

Photo courtesy Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland