All in Michigan is a campaign run by Michigan Afterschool Partnership.Learn more about MASP.
The team at Project Play: Southeast Michigan (SEMI) knows that today’s kids need access to free play more than ever before. By strategically connecting partners across their network, they aim to develop communities where every child is more active through sports, play, and recreation — regardless of race, income, ZIP code, or ability. This bold initiative is transforming how over 1 million young people across seven counties experience childhood.
The challenge is real: Only 13% of youth in the region get the one hour of daily physical activity recommended by the CDC. Girls are dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys, and children with disabilities often lack affordable programming to stay active. Project Play: SEMI aims to meet this challenge head-on.
An initiative of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Project Play: SEMI seeks to alleviate these issues and advance sport-based youth development across the region by aligning partners, policies, and programs around the power of play. Guided by the Aspen Institute's “8 Plays” and “Children's Bill of Rights in Sports,” their mission is centered around creating equitable access to quality sport and play experiences for every child.
Only 13% of youth in the region get the one hour of daily physical activity recommended by the CDC."
Research shows that young people who are given the option to sample lots of sports stay active longer in their childhood and throughout their lives, have increased physical capacity, and develop better motor skills than those who don’t. Not only that, but they also are often able to translate skills across sports, more likely to build social and emotional management skills, and are more likely to find a sport they really love by doing so!
Project Play: SEMI knows that not all youth sports organizations and leagues are well situated to encourage sports sampling, which is why they work with community-based organizations — like afterschool and summer learning programs — to make sure that young people have opportunities to try different sports out and find something they love.
Skilled, supported coaches are the keystone component of a high-quality youth sports experience. Yet they are often unpaid or underpaid volunteers and frequently have little time or access to trainings that would ensure that young people have a positive experience. That’s why Project Play: SEMI is working to expand awareness of and access to high-quality training among coaches in the region.
Most young people and their families don’t have the access, time, or resources required to access state-of-the-art youth sports facilities. To make sure that all young people have access to high-quality sports experiences, Project Play: SEMI is strategizing with partners in the region to make sure that community-based organizations and youth sports leagues are able to do more with less. By being innovative and developing networks across the youth sports and community ecosystem, these organizations can find better spaces for sport and play.
Learn more about how Project Play is working to advance a vision where all young people in the region have access to high-quality youth sports experiences.
