Grassroots (fill in your school, location, etc.) sports, development, etc.

We came across a story that captures a number of ideas that we often see individually in stories. The interesting thing was how these individual ideas were found in one short, but telling profile of a student-athlete and her efforts as part of a growing non-profit.  Some of those ideas?

  • College-aged students helping the next generation.
  • Middle-school students, who make up that next generation, who are especially impressionable, and who can be steered down the wrong path quite easily.
  • How word-of-mouth can be a powerful mobilizing force when it comes to bringing like-minded individuals together to do good.
  • A local to regional and beyond-strategy when it comes to sport and development. Here we have 1 school, Georgetown, and then expansion to 2 others in the DC area. Is it a scaleable model? Sure.
  • But scaling that model is not easy because funding is still a battle, even for the most inspiring and well-run organizations.

The story from Kristen Porter, associate director of digital communications/NCAA.org, about student-athlete Deidra Sanders from Georgetown University has lessons for anyone involved in grassroots efforts in and around sports. The story also should inspire and encourage us to find ways to make sure such good acts by people like Deidra and organizations like The Grassroots Project continue.