New nonprofit o ers sports scholarships for low-income youth

BY BRUCE GOLDBERG SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

“Equal opportunity levels the playing eld.” is is what is stated on the Chance Sports website to capture the new nonpro t’s sense of urgency about raising money so young Denver-area athletes can participate in more club sports, both locally and on the road.

“... and makes it about the talent not the success,” the website continues. “ e reason a kid doesn’t make it shouldn’t be because they don’t have the op-

State Sen. James Coleman, D-Denver, and former state Rep. Colin Larson, R-Je erson County, created Chance Sports in late 2022, with the goal of helping low-income families play on a club basis in basketball, football, volleyball, track and eld, cheer, eld hockey, soccer and more. ey formed the idea from when the two served together on an education committee at the state legislaey joined up with the Daniels Fund, which gave Chance Sports $300,000 and pledged another $200,000 to encourage matching donations. e late cable pioneer Bill Daniels, a former Golden Gloves boxer, said that his sports participation drove his massive business success in the cable industry.

“It means more opportuni- ties for our youth to compete at a high level because it’s more a ordable,” Coleman said. “ ey’re really great kids, great athletes, and they’re committed and want to play but they can’t a ord it.” e new organization gave its rst scholarships this winter to Denver basketball players. Athletes in other sports will receive money later this year. e average U.S. family pays about $900 each year for one child’s primary sport, taking into account equipment costs, monthly fees, participation fees and travel expenses.

Chance Sports debuted in late March. In the news conference, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said the city would give at least $200,000 to the nonpro t to match the Daniels Fund. e money will come from the $12.5 million the city got from the Broncos sale.

Scholarships range from about $1,000 to about $3,000 per athlete, per year/season.

Chance Sports “is designed to help increase participation and to help supplement the costs for travel, fees and equipment,” said Rodney Bates, who has coached the Lady Blackhawks girls’ basketball team for 14 years, and overall has 24 years as a coach.

“It allows young ladies in my program to have the opportunity to showcase their talent at a national level,” Bates said. “In some households, college is not a conversation because of the costs. But because of their skill and being able to demonstrate this at a national level, they have a chance to get a scholarship and follow aspirations beyond sports. In the last 13 years, we’re talking about hundreds of young ladies playing year-round.”

His rst group of players were in the fourth grade when he formed the team. ey graduated from high school in 2020.

“We have about 15 young ladies that went to college,” Bates said. “We want to give them the tools they need to go to college. Competitive basketball is very expensive. If we can break down that cost, more participate and the more we’ll see them do something really positive.” e bene ts? Larson pointed out that being involved in sports can help boost GPAs, can contribute to better mental and physical health, closer friendships, high rates of volunteerism and voting in later years. ere’s talk about spreading the program throughout the state and eventually to other states.

“Our vision is to help out the kid that wants a chance to play,” Coleman said. “I know at some point we wanted to scale our organization, but do it right. Take care of home rst.”

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In the rural communities of Sierra Leone, women who are experiencing sexual abuse, gender-based violence and restricted bodily autonomy often have just one hope when seeking justice; the intrepid journalists at Media Matters for Women Sierra Leone.

Now in its 10th year of operation, MMW has grown from a small local podcasting network to a nationwide community news service that serves over 60,000 listeners.

In a traditionally patriarchal society where women are often not taught to read or write, MMW’s journalists create targeted podcasts translated into over 30 local dialects to reach and inform listeners — often in the country’s most remote corners.

Recently, MMW’s Executive Director Florence Sesay and Senior Journalist

Alinah Kallon traveled to New York and Colorado to attend the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women and convene with a data journalism team of grad students at the University of Denver, respectively.

Sesay said the U.N. convening was particularly poignant because she and Kallon were able to feel solidarity with women around the world working through similar challenges and learn tools to implement in her work when she returns.

“We are learning from other countries in terms of response to sexual and gender-based violence,” Sesay said. “Listening to stories, it’s like sometimes when you work on women’s issues, we need that solidarity. Sometimes just listening to all the stories from women from across the globe gives you that energy. You keep going like you’re not alone in this ght. share best practices when I go back,” Sesay continued. e MMW team has carved out a dedicated listener base by continually challenging norms.

In Sierra Leone — as well as most other states in the world — newsrooms have been historically controlled by men, and men typically hold positions of power. In rural communities, this often leads to a pervasive culture of violence against women, and a lack of accountability for those who commit crimes within the justice system.

“I think journalists, the media, we have very powerful women now — before, the newsroom was controlled by men,” Sesay said. “ e space was controlled by men. For Media Matters for Women, we are in charge, and we are taking the lead in telling the stories of women — especially those who are in the last mile.”

To bridge that information gap — especially for women in remote, “last mile” communities — MMW’s we have a high number of illiteracies; many women do not have the ability to read and write,” Kallon said. “ e gap of gender inequality is huge. We ensure that we work with key traditional and religious leaders — these are key stakeholders at the community level — and these are in uencers of change. If we want to create an impact, it is important to try and target these people who are in that position and can help us make a change.”

While MMW is women-run and primarily creates content for women, the NGO is not a liated with any political party or ideology. eir mission is simply to inform women of their rights.

In Sierra Leone, when new laws are passed — such as the country’s recent Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act — word does not always travel to last-mile communities, which may or may not enforce new ordinances and statutes. is contributes to a continuance of old patriarchal roles in remote communities, despite e orts by the legislature to leaders.

“Traditional and religious leaders are well-respected gures in our communities, and they demand respect within these communities,” Sesay said. “So, it is easy for us to use them as a vehicle of change. eir buy-in makes a whole lot of di erence. We win and they win as well.”

Kallon said that while many leaders were skeptical at rst, they’ve begun to see the bene ts of MMW programming — and female empowerment — within their own communities.

“Obviously, you have some resistance, because we are preaching equality, we are preaching women empowerment — men don’t want to hear messages like that,” Kallon said.

“We back our podcast with what the law says, and if you have the backing of the law, they understand that it’s something they have to join hands and work with.

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