SHANE VICTORINO FOUNDATION

SVF's Youth Baseball Clinic allows underserved youth with an interest in baseball to learn fundamentals of the sport, hone their skills on the field, and have an opportunity to work with local high-school coaches and MLB players. Through this one-day event in Hawaii, we give children a unique learning experience that will have a lasting impact on their lives.Children are grouped by age into stations, where experienced coaching technicians as well as professional baseball players provide individualized instruction in fielding, hitting, catching, baserunning, pitching and conditioning. They also learn rules of the game, proper nutrition, and sportsmanshia motivational segment by Shane Victorino includes the importance of education, dedication and hard work, not only in baseball, but in all aspects of life. He talks about giving back to the community and the lessons he learned from starting out as a Little League player on Maui to eventually becoming a World Series Champion. The positive effects of sports on youth are far reaching. One of the most important effects is exercise. By encouraging participation in youth sports programs, we can take an active role in improving the health of our children. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) reports that students perform better in school when they are in good physical health. They achieve higher test scores, miss fewer classes, and are less likely to engage in risky or antisocial behavior. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, students involved in sports are less likely to smoke or abuse drugs, less likely to drop out of school and more likely to be high academic achievers. Enhanced self esteem and learning values such as teamwork and goal setting are also key outcomes. Participation in sports helps children develop healthy lifestyle behaviors and offers them adult role models to guide them through challenges in life.

Our annual holiday program in Las Vegas consists of a toy drive and kids holiday party. At the drive, we collect an average of 1,000 toys which are distributed to local shelters and organizations serving homeless, at-risk or underprivileged youth.

During our kids holiday party, we distribute toys and also provide photos with Santa and lunch or dinner to approximately 100-200 children. Some of the families we have hosted at this event have never taken a family photo.

This time of year is especially difficult for families and children in poverty. Through these events, we try to make their holidays a little brighter for those in need.