The Foundation for Global Sports Development (GSD), a non-profit established in 1996 to enrich lives through sports, releases its 2022 annual report. For 27 years, GSD has supported charitable organizations and individuals through awards, grants, partnerships, and education to effect positive change in communities. In 2022 alone, it donated close to $2 million to mission-aligned groups, elite athletes dedicated to mentorship, and rising first-year college students involved in volunteer work. Collectively, this funding reached over 120 countries, impacting more than 150,000 lives.
LOS ANGELES, May 26, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The Foundation for Global Sports Development (GSD), a non-profit established in 1996 to enrich lives through sports, releases its 2022 annual report.
For 27 years, GSD has supported charitable organizations and individuals through awards, grants, partnerships, and education to effect positive change in communities.
In 2022 alone, it donated close to $2 million to mission-aligned groups, elite athletes dedicated to mentorship, and rising first-year college students involved in volunteer work. Collectively, this funding reached over 120 countries, impacting more than 150,000 lives.
Over the last year, GSD’s media division – Sidewinder Films – saw Waterman, its most recent documentary about Duke Kahanamoku, win 18 awards, at 30 film festivals, in 15 countries around the world. As part of GSD’s ongoing commitment to education, it hosted 48 free screenings of the film in 2022.
October 2022 marked two highlights of GSD’s year: the presentation of its prestigious Humanitarian Award to Jon Vaughn, and the launch of the Courage First Athlete Helpline.
Jon Vaughn, a retired NFL player and survivor of abuse from his time playing football at the University of Michigan, has pledged to change the culture of sport and athlete care for the better. The Humanitarian Award, which recognizes individuals or groups who enhance the quality of life in their communities through mentorship and outreach, donates $100,000 to a non-profit of the recipient’s choice. Vaughn designated PAVE, an organization that works to support and empower survivors and prevent all types of sexual violence, as beneficiary of the 2022 award.
“We can’t change what happened to us, but we sure can make this campus safer today and in the future,” Vaughn has said regarding the University of Michigan. “We can speak out and speak up about this dark issue plaguing us. This is a human problem.”
To continue to empower athletes and anyone in the athletic community to speak up about abuse in sports, GSD launched the Courage First Athlete Helpline in partnership with Childhelp, an organization with 40 years’ experience running the National Child Abuse Hotline. Staffed by specialized counselors, the new service provides emotional support, crisis intervention, athlete-focused resources, and information on reporting suspected abuse for children and adults in sports.
“Athletes can sacrifice a lot along the way to becoming the best,” said GSD President David Ulich. “They can be especially vulnerable to abuse if it becomes normalized in a closed environment. Having an outside sounding board to see if something that doesn’t feel right is cause for concern, can be a lifeline. Our hope is that the Courage First Athlete Helpline is a resource for anyone who needs assistance for sports-related abuse questions.”
To read the 2022 Annual Report in its entirety, http://www.globalsportsdevelopment.org/press/.
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SOURCE The Foundation for Global Sports Development
