DICK'S Sporting Goods And The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation "Give The Gift Of Sport" This Holiday Season With More Than $6 Million Going To Support Youth Sports Teams

This holiday season, DICK'S Sports Matter program will help ensure youth teams nationwide receive the funding they need

News provided by

Nov 27, 2018, 08:30 ET

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today on Giving Tuesday, DICK'S Sporting Goods and The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation, announced a $6 million commitment to support youth sports teams in need. Since 2014, DICK'S and the DICK'S Foundation have committed over $55 million and have supported more than one million young athletes through its Sports Matter initiative. Additionally, Sports Matter raises awareness for the youth sports funding crisis as the fight to save youth sports continues across the U.S.

As part of this announcement, The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation has renewed its existing partnership with DonorsChoose.org by pledging $5 million over the next three years to fund sports programs in public schools across the U.S.

"At DICK'S, we believe that sports matter and it's our Foundation's goal to ensure that all kids have the chance to play," said Lauren Hobart, President of DICK'S Sporting Goods and The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation. "Sports provide the opportunity for kids to learn lifelong lessons like teamwork, leadership and sportsmanship. This holiday season, we're thrilled to renew our partnership with DonorsChoose.org to ensure public schools continue to be able to provide their students with access to these critical sports programs."

Since 2015, The DICK'S Foundation has partnered with DonorsChoose.org helping more than 650,000 student athletes across all 50 states stay involved in sports with more than $10.5 million in donations. This recommitment of an additional $5 million will more-than double the Foundation's already-impactful support and ensure that more than a million kids have access to youth sports through their public school programs through 2021.

"The support from The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation has helped bring team sports dreams to life for coaches, teachers and students all over the country," said Charles Best, DonorsChoose.org founder and CEO. "Our partnership will continue to make a difference for students on and off the field, and helps further our mission of ensuring students in every community have the tools and experiences they need to succeed."

In addition to the recommitment to DonorsChoose.org, The DICK'S Foundation also announced the launch of a new $1 million Sports Matter Community Grant Program that will benefit high-poverty, local youth sports teams, leagues or schools. Store associates at the Company's more than 860 DICK'S Sporting Goods, Field & Stream and Golf Galaxy stores nationwide will have the ability to nominate local teams to receive a cash grant this holiday season.

"Our stores play a critical role in helping us to give back to our local communities," Hobart added. "Through this new grant program, our in-store associates will help our Foundation identify local teams in need and assist with the distribution of $1 million of funds for teams in their communities to do things like purchase equipment, subsidize participation fees for families or repair local fields."

Throughout the holiday season, DICK'S will be collecting donations for the Foundation's Sports Matter program at registers in stores nationwide. Customers will have the opportunity to donate following their purchase.

In addition, DICK'S plans to host nearly 20 in-store shopping events this Holiday season where professional athletes such as Patrick Mahomes II, Nigel Bradham, Devin Booker and many others will take underserved kids shopping in local DICK'S Sporting Goods stores. These events will benefit more than 300 kids by providing them with a once-in-a-lifetime experience and giving them the gift of sport this Holiday season. Information on these local events will be distributed at a later date.

For more information on how your team can apply for funding or to donate to Sports Matter, please visit SportsMatter.org.

About DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc.
Founded in 1948, DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. is a leading omni-channel sporting goods retailer offering an extensive assortment of authentic, high-quality sports equipment, apparel, footwear and accessories. As of November 3, 2018, the Company operated 732 DICK'S Sporting Goods locations across the United States, serving and inspiring athletes and outdoor enthusiasts to achieve their personal best through a blend of dedicated associates, in-store services and unique specialty shop-in-shops dedicated to Team Sports, Athletic Apparel, Golf, Lodge/Outdoor, Fitness and Footwear.

Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, DICK'S also owns and operates Golf Galaxy and Field & Stream specialty stores, as well as DICK'S Team Sports HQ, an all-in-one youth sports digital platform offering a comprehensive range of services including technology solutions such as online registration and league management services, and mobile apps for scheduling, communications and live scorekeeping; team gear such as uniforms and equipment, fan wear, and access to donations and sponsorships. DICK'S offers its products through a content-rich eCommerce platform that is integrated with its store network and provides customers with the convenience and expertise of a 24-hour storefront. For more information, visit the Press Room or Investor Relations pages at dicks.com.

About The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation
The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation with a mission to inspire and enable sports participation. It was created by DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. as a private corporate foundation to support DICK'S charitable and philanthropic activities.

About DonorsChoose.org
DonorsChoose.org is the leading platform for giving to public schools. Teachers across America use the site to create projects requesting resources their students need, and donors give to the projects that inspire them. Since its founding by a Bronx teacher in 2000, more than 3.4 million people and partners have given $740 million to projects reaching 30 million students. Unique among education funding platforms, the DonorsChoose.org team vets each project request and ships resources directly to the school. Every donor receives photos of their project in action, thank-yous from the classroom, and a cost report showing how every dollar was spent. DonorsChoose.org was the first charity to make the top 10 on Fast Company's list of the Most Innovative Companies in the World.

Contact: DICK'S Sporting Goods – [email protected]

SOURCE DICK'S Sporting Goods