The Case for Daly Field: A Public/Private Partnership

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The Case for Daly Field: A Public/Private Partnership Daly Field Restoration Allston - Brighton Friends of Daly Field

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Simmons College: Mission and Values Simmons College was founded in 1899 with a pioneering purpose established by local, visionary entrepreneur, John Simmons: Educate women to earn an independent livelihood.

Our Commitment to Daly Field is rooted in our Mission and Values

Today, Simmons has the distinction of being the only women’s college in Boston, one that also functions as a small university with highly respected graduate programs open to women and men.

Simmons is proud to be playing a leadership role in the innovative public/private partnership that will transform Daly Field from a long-neglected parcel of public land into a state-of-the-art recreational facility. The initiative is a concrete expression of our commitment to girls’ and women’s development and leadership, which is supported by our mission and core values.

Our Mission: Transformative learning that links passion with lifelong purpose.

Through an education that combines intellectual leadership with professional preparation, we help students lead meaningful lives and build successful careers for the 21st century. The College’s commitment can be seen in our state-of-the-art facilities for teaching, learning, living, and working at Simmons, as well as through our exceptional faculty and staff.

The value Simmons places on making “a collective investment in community” is deeply rooted in the College’s culture and manifest in the breadth and depth of service-learning and community volunteer programs that have earned Simmons national honors. Our investment of time and resources in Daly Field expands our commitment to community in a dynamic new way.

Our Vision for the Next 100 Years Building on more than a century of innovation and success, Simmons aspires to be a beacon of leadership in the world of higher education; a resource to our nation and world; known for our expertise in fields which improve the human condition; sought out for the findings of our highly reputable research and seen as the global expert in educating women for their own empowerment and for leadership.

“In a perfect world, public land would be maintained with public funds for public use. As a 21st century college president, however, I must be a realist as well as an environmentalist. Reality dictates that the many priorities of state spending, coupled with a crushing state budget deficit, have not allowed for the proper maintenance of Daly Field for many years.”

Our Core Values –Helen G. Drinan ’75LS, ’78SM President of Simmons College

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We are at our best when students are first.

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We prepare students for life’s work.

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We cross boundaries to create opportunities.

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We make a collective investment in community.

“ The Daly Field project is vital to the continued strength of our athletic programs and to raise the profile of Simmons as an institution of higher education.”

–Helen G. Drinan ’75LS, ’78SM

Women’s Athletics and Leadership A growing body of research shows participation in sports benefits girls and women in ways that extend far beyond the playing field, just as it does for boys and men. Student athletes learn valuable life skills that can help them succeed in school and beyond.

Research by economist Betsey Stevenson found that increasing girls’ participation in sports had a direct effect on women’s education and employment. In 2010, she reported that changes spurred by Title IX explained about 20 percent of the increase in women’s education and about 40 percent of the rise in employment for 25-to-34-year-old women.

The Women’s Sports Foundation founded by Billie Jean King reports: ■■ High

school girls who play sports are less likely to be involved in an unintended pregnancy, more likely to get better grades in school, and more likely to graduate than girls who do not play sports.

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and women who play sports have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem and lower levels of depression.

■■ Girls

and women who play sports have a more positive body image and experience higher states of psychological well-being than girls and women who do not play sports. of the female executives at Fortune 500 companies identified themselves as former “tomboys”—having

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To benefit from athletics, girls and women must have opportunities to participate. But those opportunities vary widely.

“Our nation’s schools remain highly segregated along racial and economic lines, and schools with high concentrations of minority and low-income students have fewer resources for academic and extracurricular activities. Opportunities to play sports, which provide valuable benefits, are diminished for all students at these schools, but are particularly limited for girls.”

Finishing Last: Girls of Color and School Sports Opportunities –Poverty & Race Research Action Council National Women’s Law Center

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played sports.

“ According to the United Nations, when girls participate in sports they are more likely to attend school and participate in society. When women and girls can walk on the playing field, they are more likely to step into the classroom, the boardroom, and step out as leaders in society.”

–U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

Restoring Daly Field: A Practical, Powerful Way to Promote Girls’ and Women’s Athletics and Leadership As a women’s college with a strong athletics program, Simmons speaks with authority on the value of women’s participation in sports.

Scholar athletes are among the College’s top students. That’s why Simmons sees so much potential for the restoration of Daly Field to help girls — and boys — in the Allston-Brighton community reap the benefits of participating in sports. Students at Brighton High School and youth involved in the Allston-Brighton Little League will especially benefit.

Use of Daly Field will benefit Simmons in important ways: ■■

undergraduate College ■■

introducing them to tennis, lacrosse, or other sports not typically offered in inner-city communities

The Benefits of Daly Field for Simmons College

In order for scholar athletes to achieve their full potential, they need reliable access to quality playing fields, particularly for soccer, softball, and tennis. To date, the College has had to arrange access to borrowed fields as it does not own any itself. The substantial Simmons commitment to Daly Field solves that problem in a way that also benefits the wider community.

Create opportunities for Simmons athletes to mentor Allston-Brighton youth by

The College’s lead role in the project as a Friend of Daly Field reflects the longstanding Simmons commitments to leadership development for girls and women, and to community engagement more broadly.

At Simmons, women athletes are the top — and only — priority in the varsity sports program, which is focused on 10 NCAA Division III varsity intercollegiate teams. All Simmons athletes are students first; to enjoy the glory of athletic achievement, they must possess the desire to study and compete in an environment that rewards and respects academic excellence.

Strengthen the competitiveness of the

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Simmons expects a quantifiable impact on recruitment, application, matriculation, and retention due to: ■■

Simmons’s growing reputation as a competitive athletics program

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The development of a state-of-the-art outdoor athletic facility

Community Partners

Our collective mission is focused on:

Friends of Daly Field Simmons and the other Friends of Daly Field joined forces because of a shared recognition of the multiple ways the project will strengthen the Allston-Brighton community and help it attract and retain families who want their children involved in sports.

The Improved Daly Field The improved Daly Field will enable Allston-Brighton to ­— at last — establish a viable youth athletics “pipeline,” the kind that makes it possible for children of all ages to participate and progress in sports, in community leagues and/or on school teams.

To fulfill its mission, the Friends of Daly Field is actively pursuing funding partners, with Simmons College leading the way, drawing on its expertise and experience in securing and stewarding significant philanthropy.

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Fostering an innovative public/private partnership

“ We want to groom our students not just as athletes,

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estoring public parkland to serve the needs of Boston’s public school children, their families, R and the community

but as leaders, as critical thinkers,

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eturning the Brighton High School athletes to their former home field, deemed unsafe for R inter-scholastic play for over 20 years

as community members who deserve to see we’re investing in our students

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as much as they’re investing in us and their education.”

–Emily Bozeman, Headmaster, Brighton High School

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roviding state-of-the-art athletic facilities for Brighton High School, the Allston-Brighton Little P League, the Allston-Brighton Community, Simmons College, and the public nhancing landscaping and providing storm water management to a neglected area on the E banks of the Charles River

Community Partners Brighton High School

Allston-Brighton Little League

Brighton High School has been serving students in Boston since 1841. The school is committed to providing a personal and engaging high school experience, leading to lifelong academic and civic excellence. By creating an inclusive community and offering challenging curricula, the school empowers its students to be successful in their post-secondary education and beyond.

The Allston-Brighton Little league enriches the lives of youth in the community – boys and girls – by fielding more than 30 teams in seven divisions. The league typically involves between 350 and 400 children and teenagers age three to sixteen. The league is an enthusiastic supporter of the Daly Field renovation for two major reasons:

Brighton High School is in the westernmost section of Boston and has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, of which: 45% are African-American or Afro-Caribbean, 41% are Hispanic, 5% are Asian, and 9% are white. About 15% of the students are classified as English Language Learners, but about 50% come from homes where English is not the natural language.

Brighton High School Athletics Athletics at Brighton High School offer students an enriching opportunity to develop athletic and life skills through participation on fall, winter, and spring teams for boys and girls. The restoration of Daly Field will directly benefit these Brighton High School teams: ■■ Football ■■ Soccer

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league will have a dedicated place to play – one that’s consistently available, so families and other supporters always know where to congregate.

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safe, regulated field will reduce the number of injuries and attract more young people.

Brighton Board of Trade “Strong Businesses Make Strong Communities” The Brighton Board of Trade was established in 1945 to help the neighborhood business community. Its objectives include lowering the costs of doing business in Brighton, increasing individual member’s sales and profits, and promoting a community spirit that improves the overall quality of life of Brighton residents.

– varsity and junior varsity

– boys and girls

■■ Baseball

– varsity and junior varsity

■■ Softball ■■ Tennis

– boys and girls (shared team with other Boston Public Schools)

Brighton High’s Athletic Director Randolph Abraham says having use of the renovated Daly Field facilities should help reduce injuries and boost participation in sports; last year, about 400 students participated in at least one sport; this year it’s 250. “We’re seeing a decrease in athletics participation because of injuries – there have been a lot of injuries due to the condition of the field,” says Abraham. “Having a beautiful facility will allow students to get excited about playing again.”

“ Having a beautiful facility will allow students to get excited about playing again.”

–Randolph Abraham Athletic Director/Head Football Coach, Brighton High School

“ We have kids get hurt because of the conditions of the fields we play on. We’ve had kids almost break their legs falling into holes. And if the field is under water, you can’t go out there.”

–John Reen, Allston-Brighton Little League Coach

Features of the Renovated Daly Field Complex SOCCER AND LACROSSE FIELDS NCAA Division III synthetic turf soccer and lacrosse fields with stadium seating

“ The community is completely

SOFTBALL DIAMOND

behind us. But it’s hard for them

NCAA compliant softball diamond with clay infield and synthetic turf outfield

to get all the way to Dorchester to

TENNIS COURTS

support us in a home game. We

Six fenced NCAA standard tennis courts sized for doubles play

haven’t played a home game in

FIELD HOCKEY FIELD NCAA Division III field hockey synthetic turf field with portable bleachers and press box

FOOTBALL FIELD MIAA standard high school football synthetic turf field

25 years. It’s a great opportunity.

We’re keeping families in the community. That means children are going to get to grow up being more active, having the kind of

NEW BUILDING 3,200 square foot building will provide a sports medicine facility, team meeting rooms, and public restrooms

WALKING TRACK

state-of-the-art facility you see in other communities, but clearly lacking in Brighton. We need this.”

Quarter-mile, two-lane walking track will surround the softball field and tennis courts

BIKE/WALKING PATH Newly constructed walking/bike path along the Charles River

SPORTS LIGHTING Innovative sports lighting systems

DIGITAL SCORING Customized digital scoring and timing systems

–Randolph Abraham Athletic Director/Head Football Coach Brighton High School

“ Our athletics program is built on the educational principles of developing leadership skills through athletic participation. Our student-athletes, through their experiences in the varsity sports teams, are learning, practicing, and developing the principles of leadership on a daily basis.

In our teaching and coaching, we focus on and look for opportunities where we can assist each student to reach her potential as a leader and to excel in the classroom and on the athletic field.”

–Ali Kantor, Director of Athletics at Simmons