A challenge to those organizing committees for mega events like the Olympic Games and the World Cup – hope these are on your 2010 calendars! – is the legacy of the event in terms of impact on the national and global communities, and more and more, on the local level. Will facilities sit idle, will grounds created for foreign guests not be enjoyed by the local citizenry? Will celebrations of sport and activity be met with a populace, especially the young, devoid of opportunities to participate in sports? These are questions that are only sometimes answered to any real satisfaction.

We became aware recently of the LA84 Foundation, the “managers of the legacy,” if you will, of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Often cited as the Games that reenergized the modern Olympic movement, much of that based on how well it was run and the profit generated, the impact of those Games on the local community continues.

Last week LA84 announced $2,060,882 in grants to support sports programs serving more than 50,000 youths in Southern California. Amongst the organizations benefiting from the grant program are Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Beyond the Bell Branch, LA’s BEST (Better Educated Students for Tomorrow), Kids In Sports, Southern California Tennis Association, YMCA of Greater Long Beach, and After-School All-Stars, Los Angeles.

These grants will surely assist the thousands of individuals looking to provide an even greater number of youth a chance to have fun, to grow and learn, in an environment that aims to be safe and rewarding.

To learn about other grantees, please click here to read the full press release. And to learn more about the LA84 Foundation, please click on the logo.