Build Our Kids' Success, otherwise known as BOKS, is an initiative of the Reebok Foundation. The Foundation announced a $250,000 grant program to support equitable access to physical activity and play to more children in underserved communities.
Originally, the program launched in 2020 in the U.S., helping more than 100 schools and youth organizations to keep kids active throughout the pandemic-induced hybrid learning environment. This year, the initiative expands to BOKS Canada, offering up to 25 grants of $2,000 each to underserved Canadian schools. For eligibility, schools must sign up for the BOKS program. The grants are allocated to equipment purchasing, participant incentives and rewards, pay trainers, or other creative ways to engage student participation.
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What's Driving This Trend
- Equitable Access
- Brands can create grant programs specifically targeted towards ensuring equitable access to education and physical activity for underserved communities.
- Hybrid Learning
- Grant programs can be geared towards supporting organizations and schools to build programs that complement hybrid learning environments, ensuring children remain active regardless of circumstances.
- Rewards and Incentives
- Grant programs can emphasize incentivizing participation in physical activity programs for children, possibly by creatively involving them in the process of designing their own rewards.
Who This Affects Most
- Sportswear
- Sportswear giants can support the growth of such grant programs that fund physical activity programs and schools to create awareness and build brand loyalty in recreational athletics.
- Education
- Education companies can design their products around hybrid learning models and develop grant programs to schools in underserved communities to make education and physical activity more accessible.
- Non-profits
- Grant programs can provide non-profit organizations with the funding necessary to ensure equitable physical activity opportunities so they can expand and increase awareness about such opportunities in underserved communities.
