Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation

Program Overview and Background

The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation (CRSF) helps to strengthen America’s most underserved and distressed communities by supporting and advocating for children, building Youth Development Parks, partnering with law enforcement and youth service agencies, and addressing community needs through its national program initiatives. CRSF creates safe opportunities for youth to develop valuable life skills, build character, connect positively with local law enforcement, and learn how to make productive choices for their future. By partnering with youth-serving organizations and schools across the country, we provide educational life skills curriculum for adult mentors to use to better engage and teach the children we serve. Using team sports as the hook, youth gain knowledge in topics such as leadership, work ethic, personal responsibility, and healthy living.

Program Services

Group activities such as:

• Team Sports
• Leadership Development
• College/Career Readiness

Target Population

We aim to provide mentoring under this grant to young people with any one or more of the following:

• Single Parent Household
• Facing Discrimination based on Race, Ethnicity, or Gender
• Juvenile Justice Involvement
• Substance Impact or Misuse
• Rural Location
• Youth with Disabilities

Mentor Recruitment and Training

• 13,000 matches and youth served under this grant
• 500 mentors recruited under this grant
• For mentor recruitment, we target College Students, Adult Volunteers, Athletic Coaches, and Law Enforcement Officers
• Duration of program services: Minimum of 12 weeks
• Expected intensity of match contact: 1-2 times a week for at least an hour
• Expected length of a match: Minimum of 12 weeks
• Expected frequency of match contact: 1-2 times a week for at least an hour
• Number of training hours required before a mentor is matched with a youth: 3 hours