America SCORES takes center stage at Sports Business Journal Awards event in Times Square
Hoisting the Celebration of Service trophy with America SCORES staff and volunteers and trailblazer Lavonte Jones of Lost Boyz, the 2021 award recipient (2nd row, 2nd from right).
The influential Sports Business Journal has named America SCORES the 2022 winner of the Celebration of Service award. Winners are recognized for innovation, creativity, organizational excellence, and leadership, leading the way in exemplifying how sport is a catalyst for social change and a vehicle for good.
SCORES received the honor on May 18 at the 2022 Sports Business Awards in New York City. America SCORES Bay Area Executive Director Colin Schmidt accepted the Celebration of Service award on the behalf of the national organization. Previous winners include Homeless World Cup, PeacePlayers International, PowerPlay NYC, Team IMPACT, and Lost Boyz Inc.
The Sports Business Journal (SBJ) is considered the “bible” of the sports industry. For the 2022 honor, more than 50 organizations nationwide were nominated for the Celebration of Service award and more than 1100 people from the sports industry attended the ceremony.
“I’ve been working with America SCORES for 20 years with so many talented people – frontline coaches, staff, volunteers, donors — and it is beyond gratifying to get this type of recognition from a leader in the industry. It's a tribute to the community, the passion, and the commitment to use sport to change the game and level the playing field for kids, families, and public school communities everywhere,” says Schmidt.
And the honor can be game-changing for America SCORES as well. “The need for this type of programming for access to high-quality sports programs is immense. Pay-to-play programming leaves far too many kids behind,” Schmidt continues. “With the momentum behind this award, we can help even more kids, providing them with healthy activities that boost their physical fitness and their social and emotional health. In the Bay Area alone, we want to reach 10,000 kids, and this award will help do that."
SCORES poet-athlete Mia Baez of New York City performed her poem calling for equal pay for women. Baez was commissioned to write and perform her work by Glamour Magazine for the 2019 Glamour Women of the Year Awards, which honored soccer star and activist Megan Rapinoe.
Back on stage in 2022, Mia performed that poem again, this time on the very same day as a historic labor announcement from the U.S. Soccer Federation guaranteeing equal pay for the women’s and men’s national teams.
Like Rapinoe, Mia is an activist and leader herself and was recently selected by the U.S. Department of State to travel to Brazil next month with the Youth All-Stars Abroad Program, a sports-for-good collaboration with the Julie Foudy & espnW Leadership Academy.
And here is an expert from Mia’s poem on equal pay:
It is not fair for us women to work hard every day
And not get paid equally
Color no importa
Color no decide quién recibe mal trato o no
We are all human beings
And we deserve to be treated like one
I want to be the beginning of the end
I want to show that equality matters in this world
Hopefully, I can create a domino effect
Where the people who support me take action
